


Returning to house that found a new home

by Iloveyou_3000



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Anti team-cap, At least at the start, Aunt May is dead, BAMF Pepper Potts, BAMF Peter Parker, Bucky did nothing wrong, But I'm Getting Better, Civil war complient, I Don't Even Know, I haven't been here is a while, I love Bucky, I love Natasha too much, I love Spiderchelle, IronDad and SpiderSon, Like, Multi, Not really anti-team cap, Please bare with me, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Peter Parker, Sam get's his own mind eventually, So let's just see where this goes, Sort Of, Steve is a dickhead, a little later though, but I suck at writing that, but it's important to the story, i don't like it, i think, like honestly, like i didn't plan on him being like this, more just Steve was a reaal dickhead, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2020-05-15 15:27:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19298530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iloveyou_3000/pseuds/Iloveyou_3000
Summary: Peter hated seeing Tony like this, and his protectiveness for his mentor had increased ever since May passed. He doesn't know what the hell he is going to do when the rouge avengers are pardoned and forced to live in the compound with them, but it he knows it will be big.Nothing will ruin what he worked so hard to get---Or the rouge avengers return and chaos ensues





	1. Chapter 1 - Mishaps and Booby-traps

The Rouge Avengers were due back any day now, and Peter was dreading it.

He knew the stress that their arrival would place on Tony, and he would be damned if he let them ruin the happy atmosphere that had been in the compound ever since Aunt May passed away.

“Boss requests your presence in the lab” 

“Thanks FRIDAY, tell him I’ll be down in a sec”. He had something to do first.

“Sure Peter”. She responded cheerfully, well, as cheerfully as an AI could be.

Peter walked over to the kitchen, taking stock of the supplies and making a note to FRIDAY to get more cereal before they ran out, his spider metabolism was hard to keep up.

He also set a few spy cameras around the place. One above the bench in the middle of the room, one near the front bench, two surrounding the fridge, oven, microwave and coffee machine area.

“Karen”. Peter spoke into his watch, which Tony upgraded to include Karen’s mainframe so his contact with her wasn’t limited to his time in the suit.

“Yes Peter”. Her voice responded

“Set up protocol whatcha gon do on spider-spies 1 to 4”.

“Of course Peter, by the way, congratulations on finally coming up with a name for the cameras. It think it’s very clever”.

If peter’s cheeks reddened just the slightest under her praise, no-one had to know - surely.

“I suggest you head down to the lab now, before Mr. Stark comes up to find you”. Karen prompted

“Yep, will go now. Bye Karen”. He switched Karen off and headed to the elevator, humming along to the random music it played.

++++++++++=

Tony was stressing. It was two days before the recently pardoned avengers would return to the compound, and he would have to break the news of the kid to them.

He tried to take his mind off the subject by focussing on adding an EMP device to his repulsors, he couldn’t count the times that it would have been useful, but the calibration of it was tricky. One mistake and the blast would take his suit out as well.

“FRIDAY”

“Yes boss?” The AI was ever vigilant

“Tell Peter to get his butt down here, I have some upgrades to his suit that he should know about. Also, what are the chances of this catching on fire?”

“About 60% sir. Peter has been notified.”

“Good. Dum-E, get ready for something to blow up”. The machine whirred in response.  
++++++++++=

The doors opened, and Peter stepped out to the corridor that took him to Tony’s personal lab. Tony was working on one of the Iron Man suits, and had Dum-E on standby with the fire extinguisher. He watched for a little bit as the mechanic tinkered around, cussing at the machine as something sparked, and then at Dum-E when he doused him with the fire extinguisher.

Thinking he needed to get in there before Tony threatened poor Dum-E with deactivation, Peter made his presence known.

“Hey Mr. Stark”. He coughed

Tony turned around in surprise, screwdriver in hand.

“Kid, what have I told you. Stop calling me ‘Mr. Stark’. Makes me sound old.”

Peter couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. He was standing there, scolding him for calling him ‘Mr. Stark’, while dripping with foam holding the screwdriver like a maniac.

Laugh “You look -” Wheeze “- like you just-” Gasp “- spilt a whole can of web-fluid on yourself”. By this time, Peter in hysterics, laughing so hard, it washed the scowl right off Tony’s face, replacing it with a smile.

“You won’t be laughing for long”. A wicked grin grew out of the smile as he grabbed the extinguisher from Dum-E and pointed it at Peter.

The two then engaged in an epic battle of fire extinguisher vs. webbing (Peter started to wear his web-shooters all the time, ever since the vulture incident).

+++++++++++=

“Ms. Potts, I would advise you to wait a minute before entering the lab”. FRIDAY’s voice warned.

Pepper chuckled lightly to herself before opening the door. She was greeted by a blast of foam to the face.

Both Tony and Peter stopped what they were doing immediately and looked in fear at Pepper’s stunned, foam-covered face. Tony immediately started to apologize profusely, while Peter attempted to hide a laugh.

“And this,” Pepper started, “is why I keep telling you, look before you shoot something at the door. Also, Peter dear, what are you doing on the ceiling?”

Peter’s face went bright red, and dropped from his perch.

“I want this lab cleaned up straight away you two. Everything has to be in order when… they arrive, or else the lawyers will have my skin, okay.”

Feeling less enthusiastic after being reminded of what was to come, the two boys nodded and went to work cleaning the place up. Pepper turned on her heel and left to clean herself up before her next meeting.

 

+++++++++=

Peter woke up the next morning to check that his spider-spies were working.

“Karen, pull up the feed from protocol whatcha gon do”

He watched in fascination as Tony got his morning coffee ready. Ever since Peter moved in, his sleep schedule had been more… normal. As he neared the front bench camera, Peter spoke to Karen again

“Prepare for mini-shock on drone one”. He waited for a few moments before Tony sat down and went of a sip of his coffee. “Annnnd… now Karen!”. 

Tony jolted in his seat from the small shock, spilling his coffee all down his front. He then looked at the drone to his left, got real close to it and spoke into the microphone.

“Peter Benjamin Parker, you are so dead”

Suddenly, throughout the whole living quarters of the compound, Peter’s voice could be heard

“IMMA A BAD BITCH YOU CAN’T KILL ME.”

He fell on the floor laughing like a maniac as Tony spilled his coffee for the second time. 

“Karen, please tell me you got that”.

“Of course Peter, should I save it to the ‘big mood’ folder”.

“Uh duh”. He replied

 

As Peter went down for breakfast about half an hour later, being careful of course, his spider sense went off. It was just a dull tingle, so he ignored it. At least, until a ton of flour fell on his head, covering him completely in white.

Tony then jumped out from the corner, video camera in hand, laughing his head off at Peter.

Suddenly, he had a genius idea. A smirk spread across his face

“Great prank Mr. Stark. I think you deserve a hug”. 

He advanced towards the now retreating man, arms spread out wide, and ran. His advanced abilities meant his cleared the distance in two leaps and tackled his mentor.

Soon they were both rolling around the floor, trying to get the other more covered in flour than themselves, laughing their heads off.

About an hour later, Peter left for a decathlon meet (yes, they had those during the holidays) with Happy, who wasn’t happy to be driving to New York just for the kid’s meet. Tony stayed back to make sure things were spick and span for when the others arrived.

+++++++++=

It was another hour later, Tony was having lunch with Pepper, a rare thing now, when FRIDAY alerted them to an incoming quin-jet.

His voice was tight when he spoke

“I thought they weren’t supposed to be here for another day”.

Pepper noticed his discomfort.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to talk to them now. I can deal with them for a couple of hours.

“Thanks Pepper, you’re the best.”

“I know”


	2. Secrets and Truths

Tony couldn’t stop the pounding in his heart any more than he could control his breathing. In, out, in, out. He knew he was having a panic attack, and it’s not like he could just ask Pepper to help him, she was with them.

“Boss, you appear to be in distress” FRIDAY’s voice broke his mental freak-out for a little. “Should I call Mr. Parker?”.

“What?” Tony was shocked that she would ever suggest that.

“Mr. Parker asked me to inform him if you were ever in distress. My core programing made me obliged to agree. Informing Mr. Parker now.”

There was a short pause, where the only thing audible was Tony’s sharp, shallow gasps, when Peter’s voice was projected out of the speakers where FRIDAY once was.

“Mr. Stark?” His voice was loud, like he was trying to shout over other people. “You called? Is everything okay?”

“Heyyyyy Pete.” He tried to make his voice as normal as possible, but a wobble could still be heard.

“What’s wrong”. He deadpanned, hearing the helplessness, however faint, in his mentor’s voice. When Tony didn’t speak, not trusting himself to hold it together at the sound of Peter’s caring tone, the boy spoke again.

“I’m coming back”.

“No. Nononono. Peter, listen to me. I’m fine.'' He wasn’t. “You don’t need to help me.” Even if he needed the help. “Stay at your decathlon meet, you’ll be coming home soon anyway”. 

“Are you sure Mr. Stark?”

No. 

“Yes, enjoy yourself.” He was getting pretty good at pretending to be okay over phone calls. Years of not wanting to worry Pepper taught him how to quickly control his voice, even if he did slip up at the start. 

“...Okay. But you call me the second something isn’t okay, alright?”

“Sounds good buddy.” Not that he would do that to Peter though.

Once he hung up, he realised he didn’t need to concentrate on his breathing anymore, and that his heart rate was something close to normal. Huh , he thought, that kid really is something.

Tony decided that now would be a good time to re-introduce himself to his old ‘friends’. He hoped that Pepper of Rhodey would be with them, he could really use the support.

 

+++++++=

When Pepper learnt what happened in Siberia, she was furious. Not at Bucky, not even at Zemo. Okay, maybe a little at him. But most of her anger was directed at Steve. And boy was that a lot.

That man knew exactly what happened to Tony’s parents, and yet, he said nothing all this time. She could hear the heartbreak, even now as she remembered it, of his voice when he turned to Steve and asked if he knew. If he knew that his parents were murdered, not killed in a car crash like he was lead to believe. And then he had the audacity to blame Tony for everything that happened, even after driving his shield into Tony's chest. She couldn't count the amount of times he had woken up clutching the space where the arc reactor once sat.

So when her heels clicked their way over to the quin-jet, you could bet that her face was anything but warm and welcoming.

“Rodgers”. Her voice was curt, cold and straight to the point. “You and your team weren’t meant to be here until tomorrow.”

He looked slightly frazzled by her tone, clearly expecting to be welcomed back by pretty much everyone who lived at the compound. He then however, returned to his usual self.

“Pepper, you look-”

“Don’t Pepper me”, she cut him off. “It’s Ms. Potts to you”. She started to tap her heel in aggravation.

“Now if you and the rest of your companions will please follow me, we will go inside for a legal briefing. We will have to wait though, some of the lawyers weren’t meant to be here until tomorrow.”

Natasha, ever the secret keeper, walked up to Pepper and struck up a conversation with her like they were old friends. Which they were

“Nat”. Pepper smiled for the first time on the tarmac.

“Pep, how has life been since we last caught up?”

They kept walking, catching each other up on what had happened in the past couple of weeks, leaving a confused cap in their wake.

Clint came up behind him.

“Honestly, with all her experiences on missions, we should really stop being surprised by who she knows”.

He then proceeded to run up to the duo and swing his arms around the both of them, cutting into their light conversation with a quick joke, making them laugh out loud, confusing the rest of the party on the quin-jet.

+++++++=

Peter Parker knew something was wrong ever since Tony called him randomly this morning. He had been in the middle of the decathlon’s practise round when he got the call. Over the phone, his enhanced hearing picked up his mentor’s erratic heartbeat, and he was instantly worried. As it progressed, however, he heard the man start to calm down.

That didn’t mean things were alright though. He managed to make it to the end of the day without freaking out that something had gone wrong, and was about to leave with Happy when MJ stopped him.

“Parker”.

“Yes, Michelle?”

“I told you loser, call me MJ. Anyway, are you going to drive me too, or do you want me to get my own lift to the Avengers Compound?”

Oh SHIT. He had forgotten he invited MJ over. Play it cool Parker, play it cool. 

“Uhhhhhh….” Yes, very cool Parker. SAY SOMETHING! “We’ll take you?” The statement sounded more like a question, and his voice went higher than he would like to admit.

“Mmhmmmm…” Michelle didn’t look impressed. “Do you not want me to come then?”

Peter was horrified and the thought of MJ thinking he didn’t want her around.

“Nonono - I mean of course - I mean of course not - I mean yes, I want you around all the time. Wait. Not all the time, not that I find your presence endearing or anything…” He rambled, scratching the back of his neck in an awkward gesture.

“I’m messing with you stupid”. She walked towards him and Happy, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

Wow. I really do have an awesome girlfriend

“I know, Peter”.

Shit did I say that out loud. One look at Michelle and Happy tells him yes, he did.

They both got in the car, Peter blushing like there was no tomorrow, and waited for Happy.

“No monkey business in the back, alright.” He scolded. They both put their hands up innocently, indicating they weren’t going to do anything.

Happy grunted before putting up the divider and driving off. Little did Peter know that he would have more to worry about than Tony embarrassing him in front of MJ when he returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter, I honestly couldn't think of anything else to write that I didn't want in the next chapter. The support I've been getting for my first post is overwhelming - you guys are awesome, and the only reason I've pushed myself to get this update out


	3. Who the hell are you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically people meet people and those people meet different people. Enjoy :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote most of this during my break working at the musical as the follow-spot operator, because boy is there a lot of those. We only have four more night though, so I may not be posting as frequently as I have.

Pepper walked towards the conference room with Clint and Nat, the rest of them in toe. She asked FRIDAY to get any of the available lawyers to come up-state for the rouge’s debrief on all the rules they would have to follow while living at the compound.

 

She started the meeting once everyone was seated.

 

“Welcome. I’m sure you know why you are here, but for legal reasons I will go over everything anyway. Due to your international… incident in both Leipzig and Siberia, the UN wanted to have you all face trial and arrested. However, due to intense legal work, the UN have agreed to pardon you on all charges you would have faced in court, provided you serve one year of house arrest in the compound, and do not leave the state for three years after.

 

Rules at the compound will be as follows; no leaving the compound unless authorized by the legal team, do not interact with any guests unless authorized, don’t make a mess of the building, and absolutely no missions.

 

Any questions?” The room remained silent out of fear for the woman up front. “Good. Natasha will take you to the living quarters of the compound.” She addressed the ex-assassin directly, “you still remember where it is?”

 

Natasha nodded.

 

++++++++++=

 

Steve was looking around his new room, putting his things away and making a list of what he would need to buy. A lot of clothes. Life on the run meant taking only the bare necessities, and food outweighed comfort.

 

Although he thought it was nice for Tony to offer them a roof over their heads’ for the time of their house arrest, he found it rude that the billionaire had neglected to welcome them back home.

 

“FRIDAY, where’s Tony?”

 

“I’m afraid you don’t have the clearance to ask that question.” She responded rather coolly, confusing Steve.

 

“What do you mean, I don’t have clearance?”

 

She remained silent

 

_ Fine, I guess I’ll find him myself _ .

 

++++++++=

 

MJ knew something was up with Peter the moment they got back from the Os-Corp field trip. He looked sick and pasty, as least, more so than usual. And she definitely noticed when he showed up to school after being ‘sick’ for two weeks without his glasses, and with a much more defined figure.

 

Michelle Jones was never one for looks, and already had hey eye on Peter, but the strange change he went through definitely didn’t hurt. She also noticed how he looked more awake and yet tired at the same place, like something was keeping him alert even though his eyes would droop.

 

And she definitely noticed him dropping out of clubs. At first, she put it down to grief over his Uncle being shot, but when he started to skip decathlon meets, she got suspicious. Well, more suspicious than normal.

 

It didn’t take her long to figure out Peter’s identity as Spiderman. The decathlon trip pretty much gave her concrete proof. I mean, why would spider-man be in DC, and show up to save their decathlon team, all while Peter Parker was mysteriously absent.

 

After homecoming, when Liz left after her dad being hauled off to prison, MJ started to be more… openly suspicious around Peter. She loved watching him squirm. It gave her great material for her crisis journal.

 

It was that one day after decathlon practice that MJ finally put Peter out of his misery and told him she knew.

 

“What’s the rush Parker, got somewhere better to be?” Michelle had held Peter back to warn him what would happen if he skipped one more training, and once she said her piece, he was quick to leave.

 

“Uhhh… yes?” 

 

“Right. And where would that be?” You could see the sweat roll off his face as he tried to think of an excuse

 

“The… the Stark internship, Yep, I… umm…” He turned tail and sprinted down the corridor. 

 

Knowing he would leave by the locked gate (no, she did  _ not  _ by any means  _ watch _ him…), Michelle took her short-cut to meet him on the other side.

 

She kept herself hidden by the pole and watch as Peter looked around for anyone, before jumping the two and a half meter fence.

 

“Got a serious skill-set there Parker. Been taking gymnastics classes?” She smirked as he whirled around clear awkwardness written on his face

 

“Mi..Michelle… look, about that… well… you see… I… um…”

 

“Am Spiderman?” She supplied for him.

 

“Wh- what? Noooo.” He tried to play it cool. She almost laughed at the effort.  _ Almost. _

 

“Can it Parker, I figured it out months ago.”

 

“You… you did?” He looked genuinely surprised

 

“Oh don’t look so surprised Parker, I’m smarter than everyone gives me credit for.”

 

“Right. Umm, maybe you should come with me.”

 

And that was how Michelle ended up going to Stark Tower with Peter, where she promised not to tell anyone his identity as Spiderman, and then proceed to wipe his ass at Mario Kart. Their friendship blossomed from there.

 

It was only three months after May’s death from cancer that Peter worked up the courage to ask her out, or rather, say yes to her asking him out. From then on, MJ would travel to the tower often. This would be the first time she ever went to the compound, since Peter was staying there for the holiday’s.

 

To say she was excited to be going to the  _ Avengers Compound _ would be an understatement, but no-one would be able to tell from her face.

 

When they pulled up outside large double doors, Happy took out his ID card and swiped it once in front of the reader, waited for the doors to open and ushered them inside.

 

“Well, here we are, my home away from home.” Peter spread his arms out wide in a strange gesture.

 

They were walking normally, when Peter grabbed her hand and yanked her down the hallway, pulling her with him as he ran. Soon, both of them were out of breath and laughing their heads off in pure joy. Michelle was lucky to have a guy like him

 

++++++=

 

To say he was nervous would be an understatement. Peter Parker could take on eight armed robbers at once, take down a drug operation and fix a computer with his eyes closed, but bring Michelle to his home was another thing completely.

 

His hand was sweating, his already oversensitive ears were picking up the slightest inconsistency in his voice, and his mind was overthinking the whole situation.

 

_ What if I make a fool of myself? What if Mr. Stark makes a fool of me? What if he doesn’t approve of Michelle.  _

 

Another thing to be nervous about. He had neglected to tell Tony that him and MJ were dating.

 

“-eter. Peter!” MJ whacked his head. “Earth to Peter. Well? Are you going to introduce me?”

 

_ What?  _ It was then that he noticed Tony sitting in the middle of the living room, an amused expression on his face.  _ Shit _ .

 

He breathed out nervously, “Mr. Stark, Michelle. MJ, meet Mr. Stark”.

 

Tony stood up from his position on the couch to shake her hand.

 

“Peter,” he turned to face the boy in question. “When were you going to tell me about Michelle?”

 

“Errrr…” Peter was very flustered by now, and was trying his best to ignore the smirks of both his girlfriend and his mentor.

 

“I’m this idiot’s boyfriend, that’s what he’s  _ trying  _ to say. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark. You should feel lucky that I'm meeting you now and not back when your company made weapons. Even when I was three I knew some pretty colourful words.”

 

Seeming slightly off-put by this response, Tony quickly threw on a smile.

 

“Please, Michelle, call me Tony, god knows I’ve tried to him -” He briskly pointed at Peter, “- to call me that”.

 

“Alright then, Tony. I do have a small favour to ask though, if you don’t mind.”

 

Thinking it would be something money related - most favours were, he nodded with less of a smile on his face.

 

“Can you please set up an interview with Ms. Potts. I’d love to get her opinion on this piece I’m writing on societies power-house’s in business.”

 

Tony’s smile returned once more as he realized the girl in front of him wasn’t about to use Peter or his connections for money.

 

“I like her Pete” He said, while wrapping an arm around MJ and leading her away. “In fact, I like you enough to set up a meeting with Ms. Potts right now”. 

 

Peter could feel his insides melt as MJ lit up at the prospect of meeting her long-standing idle. He quickly walked into the kitchen to grab a snack, his metabolism was begging for food again, while humming the marimba phone ringtone.

 

He grabbed two granola bars and a juice pop  _ man, how old does Mr. Stark think I am?  _ before making his way to the couch. 

 

Right before he could sit down, the hairs on his neck rose, and he quickly twisted around, only to find himself face-to-face with none other than Steve  _ fucking _ Rodgers.

 

_ Shit shit shit shit shit. They weren’t meant to be back till tomorrow. Does Mr. Stark know? What do I do?  _ He could feel his heartbeat in his ears when another person entered the room.

 

“Steve, what are you doing?”

 

“Sam… I think there’s an intruder.”

 

“What, how would you know?”

 

The Captain briskly pointed at Peter, voice tight.

 

“That’s how I know.”

 

Peter thought now would be a good time to say something

 

“Riiiiiight”. He slowly spoke. “...Hi there?” Wrong thing to say

 

“Who the hell are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow guys  
> I was not expecting this much support, I can't tell you how much it means to me that you all appreciate my writing. Please feel free to let me know if there is anything I could change.  
> Thank you so much - I love reading your comments too <3 <3 <3


	4. Walking out with a surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carries straight on from the last chapter;
> 
>  
> 
> “Riiiiiight”. He slowly spoke. “...Hi there?” Wrong thing to say
> 
> “Who the hell are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Sorry about the delay, but I think I'm going to stark posting every week, maybe twice a week. Otherwise who knows when I will get these uploads in. Love the comments, keep them rolling <3<3<3<3

_ Who the hell am I? What sort of a question is that? Alright - time to improvise _

 

“... I’m the boogie man.” He had to refrain from laughing at the face the ex-captain made when he said that, but quickly sobered up when he advance on him.

 

Peter’s spider-sense tingle again, and he quickly ducked as not to be hit in the face with red-wing.

 

“The Captain asked you a question, kid.” Wilson spoke. “Now I suggest you answer it before we put you in a holding cell”. 

 

As they advanced on him, seeming to ignore the now stuck-in-the-wall red-wing, Peter decided to turn the tables.

 

“Who the hell are you guys?” That stopped them alright.  _ Alright Parker, they clearly don’t know that Tony has a kid here. Use this _ .

 

“The kid’s kidding, right?”

 

“Sam, help me detain him.” He then addressed Peter directly. “You’re coming with us son, whether you like it or not. Breaking into any place is a felony, and breaking into the  _ Avengers compound _ of all places, it’s going to land you in a world of trouble.”

 

Sam moved to detain him as Rogers muttered under his breath, “knew we shouldn’t put our security trust in Stark’s hand, not with everything that’s come to pass”.

 

Peter knew he wasn’t meant to hear that, but with his enhanced hearing he heard every word clear as day. He could withstand many forms of bullying and torment himself, but target other people? He could get volatile.

 

“No.” Shoving Sam out of the way, Peter stalked up to the self-righteous bastard. “ _ You _ of all people do not get to judge Mr. Stark’s work, especially if this so called ‘security breach’ has a higher clearance than you. Now, while it’s been  _ oh so fun  _ to meet you, I must be going.  _ I  _ unlike you, have somewhere to be, with people I respect and  _ appreciate _ . Get fucking woke.”

 

And he walked out.

 

++++++++=

  
  


Tony was having a great time talking with Michelle. That girl really did have a mouth, and was not afraid to tell him what she thought. Even so, he could tell something was off. He just need to find the right question to ask.

 

“So…” he tried. “What do you see in Peter?”

 

“Getting personal are we Stark?” She didn’t seem as surprised by his question as he would’ve thought. “Well, if you’re worried I only like Peter because he’s Spiderman, then you’re surely mistake.”

 

_ She knew Peter was Spiderman? No wonder she wasn’t too surprised with the whole Peter taking her to the compound. _

 

“- which was then”.  _ Oh… he tuned out. _ “When I realized that Peter wasn’t all he said he was.”  _ Missed that bit. _

 

Before he could ask her anything else, a loud pounding could be heard from down the corridor. As it got closer, a voice could be heard accompanying it.

 

“Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark”. Peter stopped right his nose. “Huhhh, wow that was a lot of stairs.” Heave. “Anyway, Mr. Stark, did you know -” Breath. “That the  _ Rogues _ are  _ back.  _ Here, in the compound!”

 

_ Fuck _ . He had to tread carefully.

 

“Peter, how did you find out?”

 

Peter took a moment to respond.

 

“Well… Rogers kind of found me, called me a security breach, insulted your security measures and then tried to restrain me.”

 

_ Right, should probably tell them about the teen. _

 

“And then…?” He prompted

 

“Um…” Peter was very hesitant to tell him what happened. “...Stuff?”

 

“FRIDAY pull up the footage of what just happened in the living/kitchen area”.

 

“Of course, boss. Footage playing now.”

 

The AI pulled the footage from when Peter first laid eyes on them, projecting the video on the wall to their right.

 

Tony couldn’t pick an emotion to feel when he heard what Peter said in retaliation to what Steve said (FRIDAY had audio up so they could hear the super-soldier’s whisper). Exasperation was definitely a contender, although so was pride and complete disbelief.

 

Trying to process everything rendered Tony speechless, and gave him time to look the teenager in question over. Peter look very sheepish, and was awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck while trying not to look either person in the eye, clearly embarrassed by them witnessing his outburst.

 

“Underoos. Want to tell me what why what I just saw happened?”

 

“Yes, Peter”. Michelle chimed in, her tone filled with nothing but humor at the situation in front of here “what happened back there?”

 

“Errrr…” 

 

Peter was thankfully interrupted by FRIDAY

 

“Boss, Rogers appears to be looking for Mr. Parker, and is apparently alerting Mr. Hogan to be on the look-out for a ‘small, brown haired teenager’ who has broken into the compound. Ms. Potts also wishes to inquire why Happy is telling her that Peter broke into the compound.”

 

Tony cursed colourfully at the new information FRIDAY provided, before coming to a conclusion to solve their problems.

 

“Tell everyone to meet me in conference room 106. There’s a lot I need to tell these people.”

 

“Right away.”

 

_ Well,  _ he thought,  _ there goes my plan of not seeing them till tomorrow _ .

 

++++++=

 

Wanda still blamed Stark. She knew, deep down, that it wasn’t his fault, but it’s hard to let go of that Stark Industries logo staring her in the face as she and Pietro huddled under the ruble, waiting for the earth to swallow them up and reunite them with their family.

 

Of course, she knew that part of Ultron was her fault. She knew when to take her share of the blame. 

She knew that just because she wasn’t in full control of her powers, that her actions could be excused. 

 

But still, her hate for Stark did not improve when she was trapped in the raft, her powers rendered useless as they put her in that straitjacket and forced her brain into submission.

 

So when Stever told them that they could return to American soil as free people, she was more than surprised. Especially when they were told that the compound would be their temporary home.

 

Wanda went into the meeting with a blank mind, ready to face the music.

 

She was clearly the first of the rogues to arrive at the conference room, and sat in awkward silence with Stark and two strangers.

 

The first was a dark skinned girl with curly brown hair, who seemed uninterested in the meeting, and appeared to be drawing something.

 

Stranger number two was a little taller than the girl, had a mop of brown hair and kept looking at Stark, as if he was making sure he was okay.

 

“So, Stark.” She broke the tension, “who are these two?”

 

He looked from her to them and back again.

 

“Right.” His voice was curt, straight to the point. “Maximoff, meet Peter Parker -” Stranger number two. “- and Michelle…?”

 

“Jones. Michelle Jones. And I can speak for myself”. Stranger number one looked up from her book, pencil halting. “Nice to meet you.”

 

Wanda smiled a genuine smile back at the girl, happy that someone she never met wasn’t immediately wary of her. The boy seemed to inch over Starks way every so slightly when they were introduced.

 

“So, how come we haven’t seen much of you these past hours Stark?” She was honestly curious, not trying to snark at him at all.

 

“Reasons.” Well, wasn’t he a joy today.

 

“Look Stark, I’m willing to try to be civil if you are”. She really was. “But this,” She gestured between him and her, “has to go both ways”.

 

His mask seemed to drop for a second, and she got a glimpse of the real Tony Stark.

 

“Alright, Maximoff. I’m willing to work with you on this one”.

 

She smiled at his agreement, ready to right the wrongs that they both had caused. She took a breath to say something before being interrupted by someone violently opening the door behind her chair.

 

She could feel the tension flood into the room as the old avengers team filtered into the room.

 

Steve came in last, a look on his face she couldn’t quite put a name to, something between angst, smugness and just a tiny whiff of fear.

 

Stark stood up, the veil of arrogance shaping his smile once more.

 

“Let’s start the meeting then, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loving the support to, never felt so loved before. Shout out to ggtz who's uploads pretty much convinced me to upload something. Love you guys, hope you still enjoy as a write with my last two brain cells


	5. Finally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here - the confrontation between the two. Or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm great at keeping to a timeline. That was sarcastic FYI. I'll try to update round about each week, but, we'll see.  
> Holy shit! Watch Spiderman Far From Home - no spoilers here - and I am wrecked. I mean, damn. Even though I sort of knew what would happen (everyone did) it still surprised me?

“Hello everyone, as I’m sure you can recall, I am Tony Stark, Iron man, your former team-mate eccetera”.

 

Peter and MJ snickered at that. It was good to hear them laugh.

 

“Tony.” Steve interrupted, “we cannot continue to ignore the elephant in the room. Why are there two teenagers in the compound. Let alone a  _ closed meeting _ . You have some explaining to do.”

 

He raised an eyebrow in response.

 

Steve sighed in exasperation. “I don’t think you understand the security implications of having teenagers in a dangerous facility. I think we can all remember your… past behaviour. But -”

 

“I’m going to have to cut you off right there,  _ Captain _ ” Tony interrupted, scowl threatening to make an appearance. “You think you have everything figured out. You think you have every _ one _ figured out. But you don’t. Listen Cap. This is Peter.” He pointed to Peter in a mocking gesture, speaking slowly so the captain could comprehend.

 

“He is  _ not _ a ‘security breach’. Neither it MJ. I think that you -”

 

“Look.” He interrupted the billionaire explanation. “I honestly don’t care how you treat you kids Stark. All my team and care about -”

 

Wanda’s nose flared at being included without her consent, but kept quiet, so long as he didn’t drag her name through the mud trying to prove a point.

 

“- is that you tell us when and who are going to be at the compound so nothing happens.”

 

“Let me get this straight. You think that after being here for, what, less than a day, makes you entitled to know every little detail about  _ my  _ security systems. You didn’t even think to  _ ask _ if there was any personal changes or additions. Did it ever occur to you that I have a  _ life _ ?”

 

Steve took that opportunity. “You’re right, I forgot about all the women that you need to keep you satisfied. That’s where he -” he pointed at Peter, “- came from isn’t it. Can’t have the media knowing about you illegitimate son, it would ruin your  _ reputation _ ”.

 

Instead of being angry and lashing out at the man, Tony spoke calmly, trying desperately to hold onto that string of sanity.

 

“I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m just going to say it. Neither Peter or MJ are my illegitimate children. Also, side note, shame on you for just assuming that Peter would be my child, I can could have a daughter too. Anyway, Peter here is my intern. He has a brilliant mind for chemistry, which helps balance out my mechanical knowledge.

 

MJ is his girlfriend, who, due to convenience only, will be staying here for a little while Peter is here for his internship. Is. That.  _ Clear _ ?”

After receiving a round of nods, some more convincing than others,  _ cough rogers cough _ , Tony walked out of the meeting with Peter and MJ in tow.

 

++++++++++=

 

Steve was livid, but there was nothing he could do about it unless he wanted legal to get involved. That much he knew.

 

So he did the only thing that he could think of to calm himself down from Tony’s self-involved meeting. He went to the training gym.

 

When Steve walked in to the large room, he was shocked. It was much more… open than the last time he saw it. The walls were lined with new equipment, each looking brand new yet frequently used.

 

There was… something… on the ceiling. He had no idea what it was. It looked like some sort of obstacle course.  _ Maybe it comes down from the ceiling to give the gym a more open feel?  _ Two sparring mats were in the corner, with a large one in the center of the gym. 

 

Steve walked over to the punching bags in the opposite corner, wanting to get the frustration out of his system. When he started to hit the bag, he noticed that it barely gave under his super-strength.

 

_ Someone must have told Tony to upgrade everything for the avenger’s re-arrival. The Tony I know doesn’t care enough to do this himself. _

 

+++++++++=

 

Peter knew he was being petty, but that didn’t stop him.

 

“But Mr. Stark, if I train with Ms. Romanoff, then you won’t have to worry about me getting hurt that much on patrol”.

 

“Peter, if you train with Nat, all I will worry about is you getting hurt. She doesn’t play monopoly without someone getting hurt. What’s going to happen when you practically  _ ask _ her to hurt you!”

 

“Hey, I heal pretty quickly. So a little injury now that can heal is going to be better than a gaping hole in my torso”.

 

He didn’t know that Mr. Stark was desperately trying to block out the mental image of Peter bleeding out on the sidewalk, but he did know that Mr. Stark’s heart rate and breathing were increasing ever so slightly.

 

“Alright kid”. He tried to play it off. “You can train with Tasha”.

 

Although Peter wanted to be happy, he couldn’t help but be concerned for the man standing in front of him. He really didn’t know what to do, and the silence was starting to get awkward. Thankfully, MJ came to his rescue.

 

“Well, as nice as it is to just stand around doing nothing, I would like to see where I will be sleeping tonight?” She poised it as a question, but both males knew it was not.

 

“Sure, let’s go. I’ll catch up with you later Mr. Stark.” As they walked down the hall, his mentor’s reply echoed around them.

 

“Nothing too inappropriate you two!”

 

Peter’s face went bright red.  _ Why? Why, why, why, why, why Mr. Stark! _ He was just glad that MJ found it hilarious.

 

She threw her head back in a rare display of pure joy, and it made his heart do funny things in his chest.

 

Her eyes met his as she looked over at him. The looked at each other for a few moments of beautiful calm

 

“So.” She broke the silence. “Which way to your room?”

 

“My… my room?”

 

“Yea loser. Where else am I going to sleep?” She said it with such calm, he really couldn’t argue with her.

 

“Right. This way then.”

 

As he led her into the lift to take them to his room, he could feel a slight pressure behind his hand. Slowly looking down, he saw MJ’s fingers bare millimeters from his. Ignoring the fluttering in his heart and slight colouring that came into his face, Peter moved his fingers slightly, relishing in the tingle up his spine as they brushed her’s.

 

He moved them slowly again, now looking at the corner of MJ’s mouth, feeling dizzy as they twitched up a little. He also noticed the blush that appeared in her darker coloured skin as she briskly grabbed his hand, and how her eyes lit up slightly as she glanced down to their now interlocked hands, swinging from the momentum of her movement.

 

Their eyes locked as she lifted her head up, each of them quickly looking away so the other didn’t see the colour in their face.

 

Peter looked back at her, and she did the same. This time, neither of them broke each other’s gaze. He could see the little freckle in MJ’s eyes at this distance. And, if he leant in just a little -

 

“- yes I understand that it would add a twelve percent increase to cost, however if you look  _ down _ the line, we would see a profit of twenty-three percent.” Pepper Potts walked into the lift, promptly breaking up whatever was going to happen without even knowing it.

 

“Peter”. She addressed. “I’m going to have to get back to you, sir.” Hanging up on the earpiece, she turned her full attention to the two standing awkwardly in separate corners of the elevator, neither making eye contact with anyone.

 

“Peter”. She said again, “who is this?” 

 

Peter swung his head round from her to MJ, then realised that they had never met. MJ seemed to have finally figured out who was in the lift with them, and was digging through her bag for… something.

 

“This… this is MJ. She’s...my girlfriend?”

 

Pepper’s face showed her trying to figure out whether to scowl or laugh her head off. The lift dinged to show that they had arrived at another level.

 

“Well it was nice to see you again Pete, nice to meet you MJ, but this is my level. See you around then.” 

 

When the doors closed, MJ let out an audible sigh.

 

“Damn. I was going to ask her some questions. Next time though, Stark owes me that interview.”

 

They jumped out at Peter’s floor, which he shared with some of the other avengers, the ones that stayed to help Tony, of course, and walked down to his room.

 

“Nice room you’ve got here, Parker. So when I sleep here,” She belly-flopped onto his large bed. “Where will you sleep”.

 

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Peter jumped onto the bed, and bounced of onto the roof.

 

“We can talk about where we’ll be sleeping later, I’m starving. Let’s go get some food”.

 

Instead of going to the main kitchen, they walked to the small, communal kitchen and living room that the people on his floor shared.

 

Grabbing some food from the ever-stocked cupboard, Peter went to re-join MJ on the couch for a movie, only to be greeted with Rogers standing in the middle of the room, MJ restrained by Wilson.

 

“We have some talking to do, kid”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all the support that I am getting, it's what makes me feel compelled to keep writing, when, being honest here, I probably wouldn't have even made a second chapter if you guys didn't love it. Hope you enjoyed - best part to come next! <3<3<3<3<3


	6. So close but not quite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my fucking god. The amount of people that have read this work - actually liked this work, commented and book-marked. Shit. Love you guys, and I really hope that you enjoy reading everything - I just read over some of my older chapters. I promise, they will (hopefully) get better. Love reading the comments to - keeps me writing. <3<3<3<3<3

Pepper knew something was up as soon as FRIDAY told her about the meeting between Tony and the rogues. She had witnessed weeks of stressing, nights without sleeping and days full of planning on Tony’s behalf to know that something had to be up for him to meet with the people he tried his hardest to avoid.

 

However, there was something she needed to do first.

 

“So how come you two didn’t show up to the meeting?”

 

Her, Clint and Natasha were sitting in a circle, drinks in hand catching up over everything they’d missed. The former moved to open his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

 

“Well. We already know everything that goes on in the tower.” Pepper raised her eyebrow at this. Clint went to butt in, but was beaten to it. Again. 

 

“And -” The archer looked plain offended that she didn’t let him speak and waved his hands around until she silenced him with a look. 

 

“ _ And _ , Tony sent us all the info right before the meeting. Well, he sent me all the info, I just told birdbrain over here what he needed to know”.

 

Still looking extremely offended, Clint stood up, latte in hand, ready to make a speech, when he was once again interrupted by the super-spy.

 

“Before Clint goes on a rant, Ms. Potts,” Pepper knew Natasha knew it drove her up the walls when people called her Ms. Potts after she told them to call her Pepper. Repeatedly. “I suppose it’s time for us to go to the training room. I hear it’s been upgraded again.”

 

“Yes, it has. Tony wouldn’t stop fretting about Peter leaving footprints on the ceiling, so he built him an obstacle course on the roof. I wouldn’t recommend it, but if Clint wants to try it all he has to do is wait for me to get a camera”. She said while jerking her thumb in his direction, then walked out.

 

“I should probably -” Clint started.

 

Pepper nodded, a small laugh escaping her as he left the room. 

 

Waiting a good five minutes, she then left the room as well, ready to go check up on Tony and make sure he was alright, as well as any damage control that may need to be done.

  
  


_________________

  
  


Tony was okay. He had to be okay. There was no reason for him not to be okay. He was definitely, 100%, all the way, totally, okay. There was no pounding in his chest whatsoever, and his breathing was not at all laboured, and his eyes were  _ not  _ darting to the cabinet that used to have his alcohol.

 

He was okay.

 

“Boss,” FRIDAY’s voice cut him from his mental reassurance, “you seem to be experiencing the start of a -”

 

“Can it FRIDAY.” He was okay.

 

“Informing Ms. Potts now.”

 

He cursed under his breath, dreading the ever-approaching click of heels mixed with his quickening breaths.

 

“Tony?” Her head appeared around the corner. Tony cursed again as she came completely into view, looking perfect, as she always does, her face wrinkled into a frown.

 

“Tony, are you okay?”

 

“Yep. Fine. Perfect.” Definitely okay. 

 

“Tony, you do know you’re on the floor.” Looking around, he realised he was indeed on the floor.

 

“Huh.”

 

“I think you might need a break, you seem a little -” The sympathy oozing out of her was too much to handle.

 

“Stressed, angry, emotional? Because I can’t see a single reason why I wouldn’t be okay. It’s not like the man who blamed me for almost destroying the world, hid the fact that my parents were  _ murdered _ , tried to kill me, instead left me for dead, then, comes into my home, fucking harasses  _ my kid _ and expects  _ me  _ to be the one to fucking appologise.” His voice was seconds from breaking

 

“So no, Pepper, I’m not… okay”. He dropped his head in his lap, now heaving to get oxygen to his brain, forcing himself not to pass out.

 

“Tony, it’s okay not to be okay. We can work this out, I’m sure legal can come up with something. The main thing is you’ve already talked to them. The hardest part is over. Now, you can spend the rest of your time with Peter and MJ. Maybe you could find out how he managed to hide the fact that he a girlfriend from us for so long.”

 

He smiled at her efforts, still a little shaky, but feeling a lot better.

 

“Thanks Pep. Speaking of Peter, I was just about to go get him to test this new web-shooter combination in the training gym if you want to come see?”

 

Her mouth twitched upward at the thought.

 

“Sounds good. I’ll be up after I finish some paperwork.” 

 

_____________________

 

Wanda kept to herself after the meeting. As soon as Stark walked out, she followed. Her room was on the second floor, which she didn’t share with Steve. Although she did fight with him, she couldn’t help but not want to be anywhere near him right now.

 

She had talked to Natasha on the quinjet coming over to the compound, asking for her room to be with those who she fought against. Wanda knew it probably sounded strange, but she needed to be away from the strong minded captain for a while, so she could clear her head.

 

Another thing she wanted to do talk to someone about controlling her powers. Ever since Lagos, she was always afraid of using her powers. Knowing the destruction someone could cause to people who can’t defend themselves from it never helps that person sleep at night.

 

And that meeting helped cement the feeling that she made the right choice. Seeing Steve blow up at Tony for doing nothing, assuming things that, when she knew the truth, seemed ludicrous.

 

With nothing better to do, Wanda strolled down to the shared kitchen to bake something. Baking always helped her relax.

 

“FRIDAY” Her accent filled the hall as she talked to the AI while walking to her destination, “do I have the clearance to ask for more information about Peter?” 

 

“Not completely, however if you wish I can tell you a few simple things about him.”

 

Since nothing else came to her mind, Wanda agreed and listened to FRIDAY tell her about Peter. From what she gathered, he was a smart boy, like Stark, with none of the arrogance. She knew FRIDAY only told her things that a simple internet search would tell her, but it was nice to hear the AI’s voice.

 

Another thing that calmed her, made her feel more human. She lacked those conversations when she was on the run.

 

“That is all I can tell you without getting too boring. I understand you are heading to the communal kitchen. May I advise you to stick to yourself as Mr. Parker and Ms. Jones are currently having a ‘moment’. Boss is attempting to get blackmail material since the whole fire-extinguisher incident”.

 

Wanda nodded with a smile, then stopped abruptly.  _ I’m on the same floor as them? Surely not. _

 

“FRIDAY,” She questioned, “is Peter’s room on this floor?”

 

“Mr. Parker’s room is indeed on this floor. Ms. Potts felt that it would be best for you to be located near someone close to your age.”

 

_ Huh. _

 

She grinned again at the ceiling. Thanking FRIDAY once more, Wanda continued down her route to the kitchen, getting help from FRIDAY when the paths diverged. Taking the left, as instructed, she wondered how far away her room was from the kitchen. It was like the halway never ended.

 

“Hey FRIDAY”. 

 

“Yes Ms. Maximoff?” The AI responded

 

“How far away is the kitchen?”

 

“You are almost there, the reason it probably feels ‘miles away’ as you say, is your habit of walking slowly to create a mental map. On average, it would take less than a minute to get to the communal kitchen when walking at a regular pace”.

 

Wanda blushed as her habit was called out, then proceeded to ask the AI to get her a map of the floor, so she wouldn’t have to walk so slow.

 

“Of course Ms. Maximoff, if you wan -” She cut off suddenly.

 

“My security systems have been temporarily blocked by an old piece of Stark technology. Cameras in the kitchen and living room level two -”  _ That’s where I am  _ “- have been cut off. Two minutes until video feed is back online, three for audio. Requesting closest available personnel to check the sight.” 

 

FRIDAY’s voice was void of emotion. Wanda knew that the closest ‘personnel’, and ran to check it out.

 

Boots hitting the floor silently thanks to a little red cloud around them, Wanda was greeted with turn before the entrance.

 

Hiding behind the wall, she peered out to survey the situation and came face-to-face with a situation she couldn’t fathom. Although she could only see his back, the words that came out of his mouth were clear as day.

 

“We have some talking to do, kid”.

 

Wanda had only one thought as she ran back to where FRIDAY’s systems were still online.  _ Stark’s going to  _ _fucking hate t_ _ his _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahahahhaha. Next chapter though, next chapter we'll see Peter. I promise. I should also get better at updating next week when school goes back (classes get boring and holidays don't).


	7. Confrontations (finally)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I've been gone a while... hehe. Sorry

“We need to talk.” Peter dropped his popcorn in alarm as his eyes snapped to the man standing menacingly in front of him.

 

“Wha -”

 

“I don’t know who you think you are,” The Captain cut him off abruptly, face tight. Peter stood there , unmoving as he approached.

 

“Or what you think you can do,” He was so close, Peter could almost smell his breath.

 

“but that stops now. I need answers, and you’re going to give them to me.” He was trying so hard not to lash out at the man, invading his personal space, fucking restraining his girlfriend, then demanding that  _ he  _ give answers? Answers to what, anyway?

 

A rustle of clothing from MJ jolted Peter back to reality. They locked eyes for a moment, before MJ jerked her head in Roger’s direction.

 

“What?” He hoped he didn’t sound as dumbfounded as he thought he did, but one look at MJ told him everything. The Captain sighed again.  _ Oh. Guess I missed that bit. _

 

“Look, Stark is in the wrong here, surely you can understand that much?”  _ What,  _ Peter thought, while glaring at the offending man.  _ How dare.. How… what the…? _

 

“He’s the reason that me and my team had to run.”  _ The fuck is this guy on!? _

 

For the first time, Wilson, still holding MJ, said something “Damn  straight.”  _ Dickhead... _

 

Steve stepped back. “Without all of his careless mistakes, the Avengers would still be up and running, a smooth, functional  _ team _ . Stark doing what he did broke the team dynamics.”  _ That’s it! _

 

Peter closed the gap between him and Rogers, MJ looking on.

 

“Peter,” there was a warning hidden in her tone, “careful...”

 

“Team? Is that what you called yourselves?”

 

Apparently, that was not the reaction Steve expected.

 

“Because from the way I see it, everyone was under  _ your _ command , and so help those who defied the  _ Great Captain America _ !” Sarcasm was practically oozing from his voice.

 

Not sure how to approach his argument, Steve stepped back, mouth moving without words coming out.

 

That only fueled Peter’s rage.

 

“And don’t get me started on those ‘horrible mistakes’ that Mr. Stark made. Sure, some of his ideas backfired, some didn’t work out they way he hoped, but no one’s perfect.. He always has everyone's best interest at heart, always tries to do the right thing, even if it kills him.” 

 

Desperate for ground in the argument, Steve brought up the past again.

 

“He created weapons used to end the lives of countless  innocent people, made billions in war profiteering and created an android with Bruce that decided it wanted to wipe out the human race.”

 

This made him livid.  _ How fucking  _ dare  _ he _ . Taking another breath, Peter moved in even closer.

 

“First of all -” the Captain was taken aback at the dangerous tone “- the only reason that Mr. Stark felt the need to build Ultron is because he  _ knew  _ that there would be a day when the Avengers,  _ your  _ so-called ‘team’, wouldn’t be enough. And after the chitauri invasion, I don’t blame him for making that call. Not to mention that most of the money Mr. Stark had came from his  _ father _ , who profited from helping  _ your  _ cause, now he gets his income by helping society improve.” 

 

Still holding MJ, Sam angled himself unconsciously to hear more of what Peter had to say. Seeing this pissed him off even more .  _ What does he care to what I have to say? _

 

Trying to calm himself down only made it worse, so he pressed on.

 

“Don’t forget that those thousands of people lost their lives is because Mr. Stark was being played by someone that supposedly cared for him and had his best interests at heart, although you would know  _ all  _ about that, wouldn’t you? Abandoning him when he needed you the most.”

 

“The hell you think you’re talking about kid?” Sam, still holding MJ,  _ gotta fix that _ , questioned.

 

“I’m talking about how all of you got up and left the minute you were told to reign it in, to stop for once and think that your actions might have consequences!” Peter was desperately trying to hold his voice back so no-one had to hear this. They didn’t need that.

 

“Sure, the accords were pretty shitty, but without at least agreeing to something  _ preliminary _ , you basically said ‘screw what the world  thinks, I know all’. What the fuck, man?”

 

MJ moved slightly, “Peter” she sighed, exasperated. Still not done, the teen continued.

 

“So, without even  _ touching _ on Siberia,” Cap flinches slightly.  _ Of course,  _ you’re  _ the one who flinches when remembering what happened there. _

 

“How -” 

 

“Never mind how I know.” Peter snapped.

 

“Steve? What’s he talking about?” Sam asked, clearly confused. 

 

”What the _fuck_ do you think gives you the right to come into _my_ home, corner _me_ , accuse _me_ of being a security breach, be told to leave _me_ the _hell_ alone, and then barge in here, fucking hold _my girlfriend_ _hostage_ , and give _me_ shit for it.” He stepped forwards again, close enough to feel Cap’s breath on his face. 

“So, before I do something drastic, I want you and your  _ friend  _ over there to let MJ go, and leave me and my family,  that I came  _ very  _ close to losing by the way,  _ alone _ .”

 

Peter searched the Captain’s eyes for understanding of what he just said. Finding something acceptable, he stepped back.

 

“Got it?” He ended his speech, giving MJ enough time to angle her watch so it pressed against her captors bare skin. Watching her press the button, he turned back to Rogers. A snap was heard and Steve turned abruptly to face her when Sam let out a shout, releasing his hold on her while shaking his wrist vigorously.

 

“What the  _ hell _ ?”

 

“Cute, right? A gift from Nat. She said it’s an adapted version of her Widow Bites. Fits right into this”. She tapped her watch with a smug smile. “It’s great for people who can’t respect boundaries, took me ages to get the tazer thing ‘round the right way. Anyway -” She looked to the captain and gestured at her boyfriend,“What he said”.

 

She spun on her heel, waltzed past the two men whose mouths were agape, grabbed Peter by the arm and left.

 

“Time to tell Tony?” Michelle asked as they walked down the hallway.

 

“Yea.” He sighed,  _ Mr. Stark is not going to like this. _

  
  


____

  
  


The doors were locked.  _ What a surprise _ she thought. Getting the courage to knock on the glass was harder than she expected. Raising a fist, she rapped on the clear glass three times, getting an answer within the next second.

 

“Maximoff.” His tone wasn’t friendly, but it wasn’t cold either.  _ It’s a start, _ she thought.

 

“Stark.” She greeted back, smile absent from her face. She walked into the room once he unlocked the door.

 

“To what do I owe this great pleasure?” Speaking clearly, she started her story.

 

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, I know how much you concentrate when you’re in your lab.” She didn’t even mean that as an insult. She truly knew how long he would go without thought of food or water. “But FRIDAY’s systems have been down on the common room on my floor for the last minute or two.”

 

She watched as his eyes flashed with the briefest amount of panic before checking the monitors in front of him. As a look of alarm crossed his face, she pressed on.

 

“I saw Rogers in the room, Sam too. Look, I don’t know what they’re doing, nor do I have any part in it -” a glance at her face and Wanda knew he believed her. “- but Peter and MJ are in there as well. I didn’t get a good look, but I came straight down here to tell you.”

 

“FRIDAY.” He looked up to the ceiling.

 

“Yes boss?” She replied, vigilant as ever.

 

“Where are Peter and MJ now?”

 

“I have located Mr. Parker and Miss. Jones entering the level two lift on the far side of the building, and from the smile on Mr. Parker’s face, I would say they are unharmed.”

 

Seeming satisfied with this information, Stark nodded a few times, whispering reassurances to himself. A few minutes passed before he spoke again.

 

“Where are Rogers and Wilson now?”

 

“Mr. Rogers is currently on the training deck, while Mr. Wilson is in his room attempting to find files related to ‘Siberia 2016’”.

 

“Right. Maximoff -” Wanda turned to look at Tony “- how would you feel about joining me, Peter, MJ, Pepper and whoever she brings along for a movie in the common room?”

 

Stunned with his offer, she took a while to respond. “Are you sure you want me there?” Wanda knew he would make an effort to reconcile and forgive her for the things she did, just as she would him, but she never expected him to act so quickly.

 

“Sure! Besides, I doubt that being on the run meant that you had enough time to sit down and watch the latest movies.”

 

She chuckled in response.

 

“And,” he continued, “I think MJ really admires you. You’ll never hear her say it though, from what I’ve seen in the few days of knowing her and the countless times Peter talks about her, she won’t tell you.”

 

Liking her chances even more now that she was getting to know the new family that lived in the once lifeless compound, Wanda walked with Stark out of his lab.

 

“So, any ideas on what to watch?” He asked

 

“I don’t know,” she responded. “I haven’t sat down and properly watched something in ages. I think I was five the last time I saw a movie.”

 

She smiled sadly at the memory. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, her parents had gotten home from work early.They decided to watch a movie as a family. They watched Snow White. Wanda found the movie mystifying at that age, and no matter how many times she watched it, she would never get sick of it. 

 

She loved watching the pictures come to life and tell her a story, loved watching a tale unfold in front of her very eyes. Peitro always hated it when they watched a movie with princesses, but something was different about Snow White. She never knew why, but he loved that movie almost as much as she did.

 

It was the last time she and Peitro would share such a happy, carefree memory.

 

Wiping a stray tear from her eye, she looked up to see Stark looking at her with pity.  _ No, not pity _ she corrected herself,  _ understanding. _

 

“Does it ever get easier?” She asked, blinking through the mist in her eyes.

 

He looked away sadly. “No. It doesn’t. But you learn to cope with it, however that may be. That grief you carry, it’s something that we all have with us. It will never go away, nor will it get lighter. But together, we can make the load more bearable.”

  
She smiled.  _ I guess we have more in common than I first thought. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to get updates out more regularly - no promises though. I swear I'll try though. Hope you guys still like what I write - god knows I don't 🤣  
> Sorry I haven't been responding to comments too - I got a fucking huge one which I am grateful for - will try to fix up the formatting issue but my computer loves to not do what I ask of it.


	8. Sweet Nothings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The movie day that they deserve, along with something else?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. I've been gone awhile. Promise I'll make the next chapter sooner, sorry about the wait:). Shout out to my new Beta, Stardust_Mage, who saved my ass editing this. love you grl <3

The common room was empty when Pepper walked in.

 

“FRIDAY?” She questioned.

 

“Boss is two minutes away with Ms. Maximoff, Ms. Jones and Mr. Parker are just behind them, coming from the opposite direction though. Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Barton are five minutes away.”  _ Read my mind, Fri... _

 

“Thank you FRIDAY”. She surveyed the room. “Is there any way it can be a bit darker in here? I doubt we’ll be able to see anything on the screen.”

 

“Of course Ms. Potts.” The room dimmed, the floor to ceiling window being hidden with a dark screen. “Ms. Potts,” The AI continued. “There has been an update on his condition, would you like me to read you the report?”

 

Knowing Tony was bare minutes from entering, she advised FRIDAY to remain silent on the matter.  _ This isn’t something Tony needs to stress about right now. _

 

“Pepper!”  _ Speak of the devil _ she thought, chucking slightly despite herself.

 

“Tony,” a smile graced her voice. “How kind of you to show up.” He walked over to her slowly, stopping just before they could touch and stepped aside.

 

“I’m sure you remember Wanda”. The girl in question waved shyly.

 

“Of course,” her words were nothing but kind, “I’m so glad you could come, even if it’s just a movie.”

 

Wanda smiled once more, glad to be apart of something unrelated to the avengers or the accords. Before she could even open her mouth to thank them for having her, two voices could be heard arguing from the other hallway.

 

“Look, Peter,”  _ Is that the MJ I’ve heard so much about? _ “I don’t care how you put it, but Darth Maul  _ one hundred percent _ survived that fall, he even appeared again in the Han Solo movie!” One look at Tony told her that her assumptions were correct.

 

A loud sigh echoed from the hallway as a response. “He got chopped in ha-” Peter stopped abruptly as he walked into the room.

 

“Hi Peter, MJ”.

 

Looking between her temporarily broken boyfriend and their audience, Michelle answered for the both of them.

 

“Hey.” She made to elbow Peter in the ribs to get him to pay attention, however, thanks to his Spider-sense, he jumped away at the last second. He proceeded to glare jokingly at her. Pepper watched their interaction with an amused smile.

 

“Anyway,” Tony started, “I’m sure you two know Wanda here.” He gestured to the Sokovian. “Wanda, this is Peter and MJ.” They each waved awkwardly, blanketing the room in a thick silence.

 

Always a sucker for dramatics, Tony clapped his hands together, startling everyone in the room.

 

“Well, we came here for a movie didn’t we? Who’s going to pick?”

 

“Me and Peter have this argument -” MJ was interrupted by Tony.

 

“ _ Really _ ” He dragged out. Pretending not to hear, she pressed on.

 

“- that needs to be settled. So how about Solo?”

 

Everyone in the room other than Wanda agreed.

 

“Hey, guys?” her voice was timid, “I haven't seen any of the Star Wars’ movies.” Peter looked scandalised. “I mean, they didn’t exactly have any up-to-date TV and movies at Hydra, and my parents never thought to introduce us to them.”

 

“Well then, I think we have the next few movie nights planned out, better get comfortable.” Peter dive-bombed onto the couch as he said this.. “FRIDAY?”

 

“Yes Mr. Parker?” She responded

 

“Dim the lights and play ‘Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope’”

 

The lights dimmed till they emitted a soft yellow glow. A long time ago in a galaxy far far away started playing on the screen. Peter looked over at the still standing group of people and motioned for them to sit with him.

 

MJ jumped over the back of the couch a little less gracefully than Peter had, lack of Spider powers and all, and snuggled into his left side, pulling a fluffy blanket from the floor and onto her lap. Tony joined them next, walking around the couch like a normal person and flopping onto Peter’s right hand side, an arm over his shoulders protectively. 

 

Pepper smiled bashfully and shook her head at their antics and motioned for Wanda to come with her to sit on the oversized (yet underused) expensive leather couch. Still smiling, the girl complied and sat in the tangle of limbs next to Pepper. 

 

Five minutes in, Peter sat up abruptly, disturbing both Tony and Michelle, both glaring at him in the process.

 

“What now, loser?” Her voice held a touch of annoyance.

 

“We forgot the snacks.” 

 

“A truly horrifying revelation, I’m sure.” Tony quipped, rolling his eyes.

 

Peter, ignoring his mentore’s jibe, ran to the large communal kitchenette to microwave some popcorn, grabbing a couple chocolate blocks along the way. After two minutes of Tony muttering under his breath about missing his personal heater, Pepper heard the microwave beep, some rustling as Peter transferred the popcorn into two bowls, and walked back over to the couch.

 

She smiled once again, turning her attention back to the movie. Feeling stressed and lethargic from the countless meetings with delegates from the UN and Wakanda, Pepper turned her phone off completely after telling FRIDAY to cancel her next meeting, and let her head rest on Tony’s shoulder, allowing herself a moment of peace in her busy life. She reached out an arm to the witch beside her, to make sure she knew that she was included. Pepper had no idea what would happen once Tony remembered Peter’s confrontation with Rogers, but she let herself relax.

 

Slowly drifting off, the CEO had no idea what she had just brought upon herself.

  
  


___

  
  
  


“Steve.”

 

Natasha leaned against the door frame, surveying the training deck in front of her. 

 

“Romanoff.” The soldier’s response was gruff.  _ Gonna play it that way, huh? _

 

“I think we need to talk.” He stopped punching the bag and turned to face her.

 

“Yeah, we do. Care to tell me why, out of the blue, you and Clint are buddy-buddy with Stark’s girlfriend, why you don’t seem shocked at the teenager who apparently has higher security clearance than most of the  _ Avengers _ ?”

 

Sighing, the red-head walked towards him.

 

“Look, I’m going to be blunt with you, Rogers.  _ You fucked up _ . You fucked up  _ big time _ , so don’t think that you’re going to be able to waltz on in here like you own the place after being an international fugitive.”

 

“But don’t you think it’s a little weird Nat?”

 

“Think  _ what’s _ weird?” She questioned. “The fact that Tony wants nothing to do with you after the whole Siberia incident, or other people being allowed into a building that Tony  _ owns _ . Yes, Rogers, I find that  _ extremely weird _ ”. The sarcasm was practically tangible.

 

Steve laughed condescendingly while shaking his head at her.

 

“You’ve changed, Romanoff.”

 

“No. I haven’t” Natasha walked out without another word.

 

________

  
  
  


The girl was standing in her lab, surrounded by various holograms, each monitoring different things. Engrossed in the charts she was reading, the scientist failed to see the person who entered the room. Her eyes scanned each word with an intense gaze, scrutinising every sentence. 

 

The man walked quietly, taking care so she wouldn’t notice his approach. A few guards dressed in red armour smirked knowingly at each other as they watched the two, barely holding back a laugh as the man tripped on air and pinwheeled his arms in order to stay silent and keep his balance.

Five seconds later, and an ear piercing shriek echoed through the building.

 

“Brother, what have I told you about sneaking up on me in my lab!” Her voice did little to stifle the laughs of the Dora Milaje stationed at the door as they snickered into their elbows. Noticing something, she reached behind her and picked up a small rectangular object that sat unassumingly on the table.

 

“SHURI” T’challa yelped, jumping away from her as she gleefully laughed at his face.  

 

“I told you not to sneak up on me.” She snarked back, smiling as he wrapped her in a side hug, taking the taser out of her hand and placing it back on the table.

 

“Any progress today?” The King asked.

 

“The shipments of vibranium have departed on schedule and manufacturing should start within a month.” He nodded along as she continued. “Our new outreach facility in America is due to be opened next week, and the technology suited to each division is being fabricated as we speak!”

 

Walking along the platform, T’challa noted the busy trains hauling vibranium from the mines were operating faster than normal. Seeing his curious gaze, Shuri answered his unasked question,

 

“It’s a new system, the trial period ended…” She trailed off to check the time. “Two hours ago. My prefered design, which I would have had installed two years ago, however,  _ someone _ thought it wasn’t the right call. Hmmmm…” He shook her head at his sister’s antics. 

 

“Any updates on the laptop we recovered?” He asked as they continued to walk, passing a pair of guards who, in turn, fell into step behind them.

 

“It’s heavily encrypted, but the coding is so old it isn’t even hard to break, just time consuming. It’s hard to imagine code being so flimsy! You can have Zemo’s data, everything he collected on Hydra, within the week.”

 

“Good.” Was his only response.

 

“And Shuri,” He spoke with a less somber tone. “Why did my alarm clock yell at me this morning saying ‘IT’S WEDNESDAY MY DUDES’?”

 

Keeping a straight face, she responded, “Well, it is Wednesday, isn’t it?”

 

Sighing, he looked ahead to their destination. “And how is our guest today?”

 

The room in front of them had a large glass panel in the side with three screens displaying live data from inside. The door was blocked by two of the Dora Milaje, each saluting to the King and Princess. Cold air seeped from under the door, making T’challa shiver slightly. As he glanced into the room, he found nothing on the outside had changed.

 

“Well, his physical condition is stable, and we have managed to wipe most of the programing from his mind. Thanks to the tech Pepper sent over we managed to get the correct tools to finally remove all of it, however he will still struggle under the weight of knowing what he did. Three days until we can take him out of cryogenic sleep. Until then, how are things going on your end?”

 

“The UN has agreed to pardon Barnes from all convicted crimes due to the circumstances he was under -”

 

“You mean being brain-washed by hydra?” She cut in, making her brother shake his head at her blunt choice of words.

 

“- and accommodation is almost organised, our final meeting is in one hour.”

 

“Good luck with getting Pepper to house him, you know how protective she is of Stark.”

 

“Ms. Potts has agreed to be the last resort to house Barnes, besides, it should only be a temporary arrangement. He shouldn’t need more than six months of re-acclimating to society and managing his memories without being on the run from law enforcement.”

 

She hummed in faux agreement.

  
“You know, the children will be sad to see him go.” The Princess said after a moment of calm silence, reminiscing when she first met the ex-hydra brain-washed soldier. 

 

_ “Mr. Barnes” Shuri greeted him as he stepped off the hovercraft and onto Wakandan soil. _

 

_ “Princess.” His tone was formal and curt. His eyes roamed the green forest behind her, the blue sky and the small huts to her left. He was clearly uncomfortable.  _

 

_ “Please, call me Shuri.” He smiled at her, and after telling her to call him Bucky, let her lead him to the small hut he would be staying in until they had the cryo-chamber ready. _

 

_ “Children,” Shuri told the small gathering of tiny humans, “This is Bucky, he’ll be staying with you for a little while, please make him welcome.” They all smiled and nodded at her, then scampered over to where Bucky was standing in all of his one-armed glory. _

 

_ Talking at him a mile a minute, to say Shuri was surprised would be an understatement when he answered all their questions as best he could. Mind at ease, the Wakandan Princess knew she could leave for a while.  _ He is in good hands _ , Sh _ e thought. _ Hands that asked countless questions, sure, but good hands nonetheless. _

 

_ One week later when she returned to pick him up for cryogenic sleep, and the kids at the village were already too attached to let him go without a proper goodbye. They may or may not have left a day later than what was scheduled. _

__

She was dragged back into reality by her brother.

 

“They will cope, just as we will.”

She found his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

 

“Just as we will.” She echoed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading, honestly can't believe how many people have read this, let alone stayed with me and actually like my work - this is all for you.
> 
> Till we meet again, and I get over the latest nevernight book (darkdawn), which should be with me once it's shipped


	9. From Ends to Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confrontations I guess?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.
> 
> Might have been gone a while, huh. Sorry about that, thought I would write things overseas, but we spent a lot of time outside the hotel. Funny story there too, accidentally bought 1.25 kilos of M&M's. So, ye.
> 
> Here's another chapter, will try to get things out faster now but school's just started up again and it's nearly the end of the year so assignments and shit. Yay...
> 
> Sorry for the wait too, hope you guys enjoy, you're the reason I'm doing this <3

The credits were rolling when Pepper got the call. Unlatching herself from the tangled web of people spread across the couch, she stood and walked to the kitchenette.

 

“Pepper Potts, how may I help you?” Her voice was brisk and to the point, not unlike the one she used when dealing with the stuffy members of the SI board.

 

The person on the other end spoke quickly and in a hushed tone, as if they were afraid someone might overhear the call.

 

“I understand the circumstances, but the Compound is  _ not  _ the right place to keep someone who is deeply rooted in the conflict that is currently looming over the occupants here.” She listened to the voice on the other side as she walked down the hall and into the elevator for privacy.

 

The two argued back and forth until Pepper reached one of the empty conference rooms and signaled to FRIDAY to patch the caller through to the main speakers so she could look through the notes that she grabbed from her pigeon hole on the way over.

 

“I know you have misgivings on taking in Barnes, however, you were not present at the meeting when the Accords council came to an agreement on a facility that could hold him if the Winter Soldier resurfaced. The Compound was the only place the council deemed safe and with the necessary equipment to restrain him should Barnes lose control. We understand the work Wakanda did to remove the triggers, however one can never be too safe.”

 

_ Yes, they can _ . Pepper huffed, her shoulders tense. 

 

“Is there nothing you can do? Please.” She knew begging with the Accords representative would get her nowhere, but she was desperate. “What about some place in the country, I’m sure Barnes would love the great outdoors with no one to judge him.”

 

“Ms. Potts -” The representative sighed before being interrupted.

 

“Or a even heavily surveilled apartment near -”

 

“Ms. Potts,” She could tell she was getting under his skin. “There is nothing we do. The council has finalised this decision. Nothing you say or do can change the fact that James Barnes will be spending his six month acclimatization period and house arrest at the Compound, with fortnightly check-ins done by a specified staff member.”

 

Grasping at straws, Pepper tried one last time to get him to change his mind.

 

“Please,” her voice was laced with anguish, “Tony...he’s finally come to terms with his parent’s murder, and the panic attacks that came with it. We actually found a glimpse of a hope that our lives could become some semblance of normality! You can’t take that away from us. Please.”

 

A loud exhale sounded from the speakers around her. “I’m sorry, Ms. Potts,” she could hear the  genuine regret in his tone, “but everything has already been decided and acted upon. Barnes will arrive tomorrow morning.”

 

Pepper put her hand to her head, crestfallen.

 

“The council thanks you for everything you have done to ensure Barnes’ safe treatment and recovery, and we regret to place this burden on you, however, it must be done.”

 

Ending the call, she fell onto one of the nearby chairs as she let her composure drop. Shoulders shaking ever-so-slightly, Pepper let silent tears fall into her hand. Not making a sound, she let her emotions run free, grasping her hair in an attempt to stifle the heartache she felt for Tony.

 

_ First the rouge avengers, now the man who murdered his father.  _ Her head dropped on the table.  _ He can’t even take his anger out on him! It’s not even his fault. _

 

A noise broke her out of her self-loathing. Face streaked with tears, she looked up to the door.  _ Oh no… _

 

“Ms. Potts?”  _ Peter _

 

His rapping on the glass door was almost soothing.

 

“Ms. Potts?” He asked again, clearly seeing her distress.

 

“Hi,” Pepper inwardly cringed at the crack in her voice “What’s up?” Not even Pepper believed her own facade of happiness. Her breathing was shallow, almost non-existent and her hands were shaking. Desperately wiping at her teary face, she tried to speak again.

 

_ I have to be strong. _

 

“Do you need anything? Want me to order you and… and Michelle some food?”

 

_ Can’t be weak. For Tony, and now, for Peter. _

 

Peter stood there for a few seconds before slowly stepping into the conference room. His voice was soft when he spoke, a calm steadiness was present that Pepper never knew could exist, especially in someone like Peter who was so boisterous all the time

 

“Ms. Potts, are you alright?” Not trusting her voice at the moment, she nodded weakly. Peter saw through her lie immediately. 

 

“Do you need me to get Mr. Stark?” Pepper shook her head. This shouldn’t be something Tony has to deal with. Honestly, this isn’t something Peter should be dealing with either.  _ This is what happens when you let yourself be weak _ .  _ Idiot, selfish, delusiona-  _  She was broken out of her self-deprecating by a tender hand on her back.

 

“Ms. Potts, is there anything you want me to do?” The caring, pure innocence in his voice was enough to send Pepper over the edge.

 

“He’s coming here.” She spoke, voice wobbling. “He’s coming here, and I could’ve, should’ve done something more to stop it. But I didn’t, so now… now -” She broke off into sobs, no longer speaking to the confused teenager next to her.

 

“And… and Tony,” Peter listened tentatively to each of her shaky words. “Tony doesn’t… doesn’t deserve this… this…”

 

“Shhhhhh, it’s okay.” She wacked his hand away.

 

“It’s not okay!” Pepper stood up abruptly, causing Peter to flinch backwards. Seeing what she did, the woman collapsed back in on herself, and quietly mumbled an apology for her actions.

 

“You know,” Peter voiced after a few minutes of silence, “It’s okay not to be okay.”

 

“No.” Pepper managed a few words through her sniffles. “It’s not. Tony… the world depends on Tony, the world has… has forced him t-to experience horrible things.” Her efforts to calm herself were futile. “And now… now because of my  _ stupidity  _ and lack of effort, he has to… has to share, has to open his home to the man who…” Taking a deep breath, she finished her sentence with a grave sobriety. “Who murdered his parents.”

 

Pepper was lost now, off on her own rant. Laughing coldly, she looked back to the young hero opposite her. Peter just stares, unsure of what to do.

 

“The worst part? It wasn’t even Barnes’ fault that he killed them.” Bowing her head once more, she whispered it to herself again.

 

Caught inside her head, it took her a few moments to register the warmth that enveloped her, reminding her that the conference room is freezing and she only has light clothes on. It takes her another few minutes of slow breathing to realize that Peter was the one providing the warmth, hugging her tightly without crushing her ribs.

 

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back, letting herself be vulnerable for just a moment longer before she had to tell Tony.

  
  


__________________

  
  


“Stark.”

 

_ How did I end up in this situation.  _ He thought.

 

_ Twelve minutes earlier _

 

Peter had just left, apparently needing to go to the bathroom. He made it clear to everyone by suddenly jumping up and screaming “SHIT I NEED TO PEE!” before bolting from the room.

 

Tony decided that that was his cue to leave.

 

Walking to the elevator, he was hit with the realisation that he had completely ignored what happened with Peter and Rogers.

 

_ Cheeky little shit wanted me to forget about it. _

 

Disregarding the plan he made in his head to go down to the lab and work on upgrades for Peter’s suit, Tony pressed the button that would take him to Roger’s floor. It was then that FRIDAY chimed in.

 

“Boss, are you sure you want to go down there?”

 

Grinning sardonically to himself, Tony waved away the AI’s concerns, insisting he would be fine.

 

As the door opened, the mechanic stepped out into a clinical hallway and took in his surroundings. While the layout practically mirrored his floor, the atmosphere was in stark (ha) contrast. There were almost no paintings or pictures on the walls, save the bland pieces of artwork from IKEA he got to make the place look slightly more inviting.

 

He almost shivered at the sight of the plain lounge room. A large couch sat un-occupied, the tables to the side void of any personal materials and the coffee table in the center was missing the basic signs that someone lived here. It was like a Ghost Town.

 

Sure, they’ve only been here a day, but Tony still found it eerie to walk into a room and find it barren. Deciding that he was just going to wait for Rogers to come down he walked to the kitchen to fix himself something.

 

Opening the pantry, he was faced with a challenge.

 

“FRIDAY,” he questioned, “Where’s all the food? There are like, five things in here.”

 

“Due to this floor being out of use for a large period of time, any produce that had a life span less than a year were removed for health reasons.”

 

Nodding, Tony spoke again, slightly distracted by the sight of an empty fridge.

 

“Set up a weekly delivery of basic kitchen food. You know, eggs, milk, fruit and veg, the works.”

 

“On it boss.”

 

Finding some frozen bread in the freezer and honey in the cupboard, he set the toaster and stood by as it defrosted and cooked. Nearly ten minutes later, the bread resembled something that reminded him of toast.

 

Placing it on a plate, Tony wondered what he was doing here.

 

_ Well, the man who nearly killed me is back in my home and has decided that he owns the place and the avengers again, not to mention he just threatened my kid, that might be a good place to start. _ It took him a couple of seconds before he realised what he had just thought to himself.

 

My  _ kid? When did  _ that _ happen? _

 

He didn’t have long to ponder it because, speak of the devil, self righteous Captain Ass-merica walked through the hallway without his usual entourage.

 

“Stark.”

 

_ How did I get into this situation? _

 

Taking a bite of his honeyed toast, he stayed behind the island bench when addressing the taller man.

 

“Still got that beard I see.” 

 

Sighing, Rogers went along with the conversation tersely. “It was hard to find time to shave, being on the run and all.”

 

“Funny that, though it’s not like you did  _ anything  _ to deserve it…” He trailed off, voice dripping with sarcasm.

 

“Would've appreciated some help, you know.” 

 

Tony sighed into his hand.

 

“Why should I have helped you,  _ Rogers _ ,” he spat his name out like it was poison. “You told me in Germany that you disagreed with me, with  _ 117  _ countries. Then, you  _ really  _ told me to piss off in Siberia. Now, you come back to the compound after being pardoned, which, by the way, was no easy feat -”

 

“Like I’d believe you’d have anything to do with that.” He interrupted, that infuriating sanctimonious tone shining through once again. 

 

“Of course you wouldn’t, you seem to only want to see me as the bad guy! No matter what I do, you go ahead and find something wrong with it.” He walked towards the man, hands shaking from unknown anger.  _ Well, not  _ exactly _ unknown...  _ he thought.

 

“Because, there  _ is  _ something wrong with most things you do. Does  _ Ultron _ ring a bell, does  _ Sokovia _ do anything to jog your memory?And don’t even get me  _ started  _ on the kids you brought here! It’s the  _ Avengers Compound _ Tony, unless you’re training  _ children _ to become Avengers, which would be wrong on so many levels, what the  _ fuck  _ are they doing here!?”

 

Not feeling like making even more of a scene, Tony answered the only way he knew how. Diversion. “Pretty strong language for someone who doesn’t like me saying ‘shit’.”

 

Rogers, seeming fed up with Tony’s bullshit, stalked towards the man and towered over him.

 

“What are you going to do now, Rogers?” The man sneered “Beat me up again? Finish the job instead of leaving me to die.”

 

“You  _ what _ ?” Wanda’s shocked voice sounded from the hallway as Rogers spun around to face her.

 

“Wanda,” his voice softened. “This doesn’t concern you.”

 

_ Oh... _ Tony thought. “They don’t know.” He verbalised. “FRIDAY, let’s get the rest of Captain Ass-merica’s team, ex’s and all down here, it’s show and tell time. From my end only.”

 

“Tony,” Roger’s voice was strained. “They don’t need to know.”

 

“Oh, but they do.” 

 

It took five minutes of standing around in uncomfortable silence for Sam to arrive. Being the last one to walk in, he stood by the doorway to observe.

 

Tony still stood in the kitchen, but was in front of the island bench, popping the remnants of what looked like toast, staring down the supersoldier. Clint had dropped down from the vents a minute after FRIDAY sent out the invitation, Nat following not a moment later through the door like the civilized super-spy she was.

 

Wanda was leaning against the couch, no sign of her red whisps anywhere.

 

“Would someone like to explain what we were all summoned here for? I have something… important I need to do.” Sam was the first one to break the silence.

 

“Funny you should mention that,” Tony spoke while pointing at the man. “It doesn’t happen to come under the search name of ‘Siberia 2016’, does it?”

 

Wilson pailed slightly at being called out while Rogers turned to look at his friend with a mix of betrayal and disbelief.

 

_ So he  _ does  _ understand what betrayal is. Slightly _ .

 

“Well, my dear old friends, why don’t we find out.” His voice was filled with a bitter, faux happiness.

 

“Tony,” Nat warned, voice soft. “Are you sure?” Giving the red-head a small, genuine smile, he nodded. Turning his attention back to the others, he started telling the story.

 

Throughout his spile he could read most of their faces. Sam looked conflicted, as if he didn’t know if he should be supportive, since Rogers was his friend, or to call him out for crossing a line. Wanda just looked furious that Steve could do that after constantly reprimanding him for not being a team player.

 

Clint, well, his face was flickered with hints of various emotions. For one second he looked slightly saddened, then confused. When Tony finally stuttered to the end of the story, voice growing louder with every gruesome detail, trying to tell them what happened without breaking, Clint had gone a bright shade of red, nearly matching the hair to the left of him.

“Steve?” Wilson asked. “Is this… is this true?”

 

Rogers actually had the audacity to hang his head in shame, like he wouldn’t do it all over again if he had the tiniest bit of loose proof that Tony would attack Bucky.

 

_ Figures _

 

Thinking it was over, Tony took this as the opportunity to leave before anything else happened. Apparently other people had other plans.

 

“It was your fault.” Steve was close to him now, closer than Tony was comfortable with. “You took the first shot.” The man kept walking forwards, getting closer still. The mechanic could feel his breath getting faster. Reaching out with an accusatory finger, he poked Tony right where the arc reactor used to be.

 

“You -” He didn’t have time to finnish before the smaller man dropped to the floor, clutching the place where his heart was dependent on for years.

 

_ The sound rang through his ears,paralyzing him and forcing him to drop the phone. The deafening silence broken by the sound of a man he thought he could trust. _

 

_ “Breathe.” Obadiah _

 

_ “Easy, easy. You remember this one, right?” He held up the small device to Tony’s eye _

 

_ “It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis.” Obadaiah moved from behind the couch. _

__

_ “Tony.” He stood over him, gripping his face with one hand roughly before taking out his earplugs _

__

_ “When I ordered the hit on you,” Taking out a dangerous looking piece of tech, he placed it over the glowing arc reactor, the reason Tony could breath at all. _

__

_ “I worried that I was killing the golden goose. But, you see,” He plunged the claws into his chest, making Tony feel pain he only ever knew in Afghanistan. “It was just fate that you survived that. You had one last golden egg to give.” His voice was greedy as he pulled the reactor out of his chest _

__

_ “Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?” _

 

_ His breath was stolen as the chords that created the magnetic field to keep the shrapnel from his heart were violently ripped. Obadiah stared at it with a sick appreciation, smiling as he looked at Tony in pain. _

__

_ “Oh, it's beautiful. Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece.” _

 

_ Sitting down next to him, the man holding the reactor waved it in front of Tony mockingly _

 

_ “Look at that. This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands.” _

 

_ He then placed Tony’s glowing lifeline into a briefcase _

__

_ “I wish you could've seen my prototype. It's not as... Well, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived.” _

 

_ As he walked away, the only thought going through his head was Pepper. Pepper Pepper Pep _ per Pepper Pepper PePPER PEPPER

 

“-ark. Mr. Stark. I need you to focus on my voice, just, ignore everything else and focu-”

 

“Pepper!” He suddenly blurted out. “Pepper, she - she’s in danger, we need to-”

 

“Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts is fine, sh-”

 

“Obadiah, he - he’s coming for her, he…”

 

“Mr. Stark,” the voice approached tentatively. “Mr. Obadiah is dead.”

 

“Oh…”  _ Oh _

 

It all came flooding back to him now, the events that transpired that night, the next few years, Peter, the civil war, the reason for his panic attack, being moved to the roof of the compound, -  _ wait _ .

 

Looking around, Tony saw no walls, no ceiling, just the floor, a few appliance vents and a worried teenager.

 

“Kid… how did we end up on the roof?”

 

Peter scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

 

“Well, FRIDAY said you were in distress and possible danger, so I jumped from the conference floor to the first floor, where she said you were, I might have smashed the window, too. Saw you having a panic attack so I picked you up and swung up onto the roof. Figured the fresh air would calm you down, tell your brain you weren’t in that place anymore, and it seemed to work so… yeah.”

 

As Peter finally took a breath, Tony just smiled up at him. Well tried to, he was still shaking. Just as he was about to ask if the kid wanted to go inside, a loud engine sounded from afar. Looking closer, Tony saw it was a Wakandan jet.

 

“Hey Peter, you wanna swing me down there so we can see who our surprise visitor is?”

 

“Sure, Mr. Stark.”

 

It took two minutes for Peter to swing down and wait until the doors of the transport opened. Now accompanied by a slightly worried Pepper, Tony watched as someone he never thought he’d have to see again exited the vehicle

 

James Buchanan Barnes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, things are just getting interesting.
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment too, promise I will try to reply to them this time (I do still read them). Also, quick shout out to spedicorn who gave me 'Captain Ass-merica', as well as Stardust_Mage for still Beta'ing the work. You guys are great <3


	10. There and Back Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Peter finally took a breath, Tony just smiled up at him. Well tried to, he was still shaking. Just as he was about to ask if the kid wanted to go inside, a loud engine sounded from afar. Looking closer, Tony saw it was a Wakandan jet.
> 
> “Hey Peter, you wanna swing me down there so we can see who our surprise visitor is?”
> 
> “Sure, Mr Stark.”
> 
> It took two minutes for Peter to swing down and wait until the doors of the transport opened. Now accompanied by a slightly worried Pepper, Tony watched as someone he never thought he’d have to see again exited the vehicle
> 
> James Buchanan Barnes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...  
> It's been a while, hasn't it?
> 
> I'm sorry for keeping you guys waiting. Thank you to all of you who commented, you're the only reason I get my ass up and to the keyboard. I've also tried to fix the formatting issue that a few people have brought up but I can't seem to do it without getting rid of the italics, any tips?
> 
> Also super kudos to my Beta, Stardust_Mage, who did this chapter with me IRL.
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

He didn’t mean to break  _ two  _ windows today. Honestly, he didn’t. It just sort of… happened, you know? He was grabbing something from the conference room, the reason he was there in the first place. A folder. A small, innocent folder. 

 

Then, the first thing happened. That tingle, the one that slowly creeps up his spine, then to the back of his neck, warning him of danger. It’s great if you’re on a battle-field or mid-prank war, but a little less great if you’re in an empty conference room and your only company is a folder. And an immense amount of anxiety and over-compensating reflexes,  _ damn you radioactive spider-powers _ .

 

So if his immediate reaction when the tingle struck out of the blue was to throw the thin, flimsy folder in the direction he was facing, sue him.

 

The second thing happened directly after. When he discovered that the ‘threat’ his sixth sense detected was not one that needed to be taken out with a Manila folder, FRIDAY’s calm voice came over the conference room, informing him that Mr Stark was in trouble.

 

Not even entertaining the thought of asking what was wrong, he sprinted out the door, only then stopping to ask where he was. Finding out that Mr Stark was three floors below him, Peter didn’t like his chances of getting there quickly without taking some drastic measures.

 

Looking around for a few seconds, he made up his mind. Pushing off with all the force he could muster in five strides, Peter broke through the first window feet first, maneuvering his hand around to  _ thwip _ a web to the ceiling before falling in a smooth arc.

 

He smashed into the next window, consequences be damned, before taking stock of the situation in front of him. Wanda, Wilson, Natasha, and Clint were to his right, Mr Stark and  _ Rogers _ to the left. A more comprehensive scan of the room told him all he needed to know. 

 

Pressed up against the wall, head between his knees, was his mentor, clearly in the middle of some sort of breakdown. Decidedly not caring about the shocked, disbelieving super-soldier in his way, or the many curious eyes staring at him,  _ I mean, why are they even looking at me, you’d think they’d never seen a teenager swing through a window before _ , he bolted towards Mr Stark.

 

Crouching beside him, Peter tried to get the man’s attention by talking to him, saying his name, asking him questions. Once it was clear he wouldn’t get through to him while they remained here, he grabbed Mr Stark around the waist and hoisted him up onto his shoulder before stepping back over the shards of glass and out of the windowless space.

 

Swinging up onto the roof was easy. The landing, however, was hard. He might have a bruise on his shoulder tomorrow.  _ Focus on Mr Stark, Parker _ .

 

Not actually having any idea on how to go about this, Peter just kept repeating his name until the man finally snapped out of it. Well, sort of. He did have to remind Mr Stark that Mr Stane was gone and that Pepper wasn’t in any imminent danger, but after that, he seemed to be good. Well as good as you can be after a flashback induced panic attack.

 

After explaining the whole situation to his mentor a little sheepishly, the teenage vigilante’s ears picked up the low hum of an aircraft in the distance. It took a few moments before Mr Stark was able to hear it too.

 

“Hey Peter,” his voice was still shaky. “you wanna swing me down there so we can see who our surprise visitor is?”

 

“Sure, Mr Stark.” He replied, before doing just that.

 

He couldn’t help the thoughts that raced through his mind as they waited for the doors of the aircraft to open.  _ Who is that? What are they doing here? Why wasn’t Mr Stark aware of this? What if it’s a threat? What if - _ he was interrupted from catastrophising a worst-case scenario as the entrance to the jet was lifted to reveal someone Peter remembers studying very briefly in school before a visit to the Smithsonian. James Buchanan Barnes.

 

Before he could comment, Mr Stark raised his hands and let out a loud “NOPE.”, then walked away, practically dragging Peter with him. Not wanting to be rude to the newcomer, even if he was an ex-assassin, he turned around.

 

“Bye Mr Winter Soldier James Barnes!” Then turned back around and ran to catch up with Mr Stark, who was already in the building. Frowning at the glass he had to step over, Peter managed to make it inside.

  
  


___________

  
  


He was nervous. Scratch that, he was down-right  _ petrified _ . 

 

After waking up in Wakanda without knowing how much time had passed, Bucky tended to the goats as that was all he could do to make the time go by quicker. He even named them. There was Kitten, who was fluffy as anything (for a goat at least), Jim, Joe, and Jilly, they were the youngest and never wanted to be apart from each other, Little Midget, who was, yep, a midget, and Prince Wilson-Palmer-Bellson the First and Only. He was a shoe-eating dickhead.

 

It was two weeks after he had woken up when he was told that the date was April the 8th, 2017, and then told that he would be returning home in four hours.

 

Home. 

 

It was a funny thought, really, that he had a home. He used to think his home was in Brooklyn, then forced to think Hydra was his home. For a while he even though Steve was his home. Siberia taught him he was wrong.

 

So, when James Buchanan Barnes was told he would be returning home in four hours, to a place he had never been filled with people he either tried to kill, maim or run from within the past year, down-right petrified didn’t even seem to cover the churning in his stomach.

 

The jet was nice. Lavish even. He had a whole compartment to himself. There was a bed with a flimsy sheet, not that you’d need much more in the heat, a bathroom, and a fully-stocked mini-fridge.

 

The people who guided him through the jet were nice, the Dora Milaje he thought, they didn’t judge him for what he had done in the past, and they always greeted him with a smile, even if it was a brief one.

 

He spent the ride sitting on the soft bed  _ too soft  _ trying to ignore the voice inside his head. They might have been able to rid him of the trigger words, but the Soldier remained a part of him. A voice inside his head. A constant reminder of who he was. What he’d done. What he isn’t.

 

_ And what he will never be _ .

 

“Sergeant Barnes, thirty minutes until landing. Would you like to come out to the main area so we can brief you on your stay at the Compound?”

 

Hearing the request -

 

_ Order _

 

\- He stood up robotically and made his way to the main area, where he was greeted by the guards. They led him through with a terse nod and a brief smile. Not one of those big, cheap grins, but a blink and you miss it turn of the mouth.

 

“Thank you, Sergeant.” The Captain, he was guessing, said.

 

“Before our descent into the Compound, I need to go through some of the regulations -”

 

_ Commands _

 

“- you will be expected to follow. As I’m sure you’re aware, your… reputation isn’t, well, a good one, to put it lightly. If citizens knew you were back in the States, well, it could seed gossip and discomfort in those living within the vicinity of the Compound.

 

“This means no contact with press, accidental or on purpose. If they try to hound you for information, just stick your head down and let someone else deal with it. These,”  He set a massive binder down before looking at Bucky expectantly. “are the accords. They’re what got you into this sticky situation in the first place. Nothing is expected of you in regards to them. You are not an Avenger -”

 

_ Weak _

 

“- and you are no longer a soldier -”

 

_ Pathetic _

 

“- so you don’t need to go near the accords. Next item on the list. Stark. -”

 

_ Target.  _

 

No, not a target.

 

“- As I’m sure you’re aware, you and Stark do not have a great track record. Due to this, Ms Potts has requested that you stay out of the common area on the third floor, as well as any and all labs unless said otherwise.”

 

He looked up to Bucky with a sort of sympathetic look.

 

“I know this must be rough on you, so if you need any help, feel free to call.” The Captain, Bucky should really know his name -

 

_ No names. Only rankings. Rankings and targets. _

 

\- Reached out a closed fist and place a bracelet that looked just like his into Bucky’s palm.

 

“It’s a way of contacting us in Wakanda. Just tap it and it’ll open a communications line. Just in case…”

 

_ Just in case I break free _

 

No, I won’t.

 

He offered him another smile before telling him to sit down and prepare for landing. It was another five minutes until the Wakandan jet landed on what looked like a well-kept lawn and the doors were opening.

 

Blinded by the sudden change in light, he shielded his gaze only to look at a grown man

 

_ Stark. Target _

 

Walk away shouting ‘NOPE.’, before being spoken to by a tiny child who then followed the billionaire.

 

He didn’t know what to think.

 

_______________________________

 

Steve didn’t know what to think. 

 

One moment he was about to get Tony to crack, then he reveals what happened in Siberia,  _ which was not his information to reveal _ , and the next a child,  _ the little turd from before _ , he thought, breaks a window, a fucking  _ window _ , and drags Stark out. 

 

So no, Steve did not know what to think.

 

“What the fuck.” He turned his attention to the magic-user in the corner of the room, a red glow surrounding her hands.

 

“What the fuck was that.” Her voice was venomous.

 

“Wanda,” he started, “watch your language.”

 

“What the  _ actual _ fuck,” she said again, this time turning to the super-soldier. “You did  _ what?  _ And then  _ left. _ What. The. Fuck.”

 

Steve had no clue what to make of the witch before him, someone he had once considered a close friend, glaring at him with hate he only ever saw her use for the man she was now defending. Looking around the room, he saw several other people giving him similar looks. 

 

He didn’t know what was worse, the angered look Clint wore or the unfeeling look Nat gave him.

 

“Steve, tell me it’s not true, tell me that wasn’t really you.” Sam’s voice betrayed his stoic face, a slight tremor running through his last few words. Looking around the room once more, Steve knew this wasn’t something he would get out of without anything changing. Taking a breath, he prepared to defend himself and his actions before Nat silenced him with her cold voice.

 

“No. You don’t get to weasel your way out of this one.” Her eyes blazed with fury, forcing him to avert his gaze. “You fucked up Steve. Big time. Tony is not to blame here, and no matter what angle you try to look at it from, it’s true. I don’t know who you think you are right now, but Tony is hurting, he has been for a while. You wanted to know what changed? The way he viewed things. The relationship you two had wasn’t a good one, even before Siberia. So no, you don’t get to defend yourself here.” 

 

She glared at him for a few more moments before turning on her heel and stalking out of the room, hair flowing around her. Clint turned to follow her, but not before Natasha spun around to give him her final word. 

 

“And leave Tony the fuck alone, or you’ll have more than an angry Spider-child to deal with.”

 

With that, the two super-spies walked out of the room, leaving the rest to work out what just happened.

 

Still visibly shaken, Sam spoke up again. “I know we should be focussing on Steve right now, but Spider-child? What is she talking about?” 

 

“I don’t -” Wanda started to answer before the super-soldier cut her off.

 

“Peter.” Realisation grew on him. “Peter is Spider-man,” He turned to Wanda, “Isn’t he?”

 

Steve’s face grew slack as he understood what that meant. He’s a  _ kid _ . Tony brought a  _ kid  _ to  _ war _ .

 

“Steve,” Wanda said his name slowly to drag him from his thoughts. “Don’t go down that path. It was his choice to come to Germany, and he’d been doing this way before Stark got to him. Don’t blame him.”

 

He could not believe what he was hearing, Tony brought a kid to war and Wanda was defending him. Wanda, the same person who hated the man and desperately wanted to see him dead when they first met. If not for the events that just transpired, he would go see Tony right now and give him a piece of his mind. But Steve knew that if he ever wanted to lead the Avengers again, he would have to take it slow.

 

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t even notice Wanda left until Sam spoke to him.

 

“Why’d you do it, Steve.” He sounded hurt, which confused him. Surely he knew why

 

“He was going to hurt Bucky, Sam. He was going to hurt him.”

 

“Don’t bullshit me, Steve. Why’d you really do it? Was it for the  _ Avengers? _ ” he spat the word as if it were poison. “Or was it for control?’

 

“Sam I -” 

 

“Don’t even,” he interrupted before Steve could get anything else in. “You and I both know that I’ve been following you without a second thought. Well, I think it’s past time that I got a mind of my own. What you did was wrong, and I don’t think I can move past it. I’m sorry”

 

And just like the others, he walked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to get a chapter up every week. Me and my Beta are going to meet once a week to work on our works so here's hoping that helps :)
> 
> Comments really make my day too, so feel free to leave one. I have the rest of the story planned out and there should only be one or two more chapters left. Let me know if you have any feedback though, I would love to hear how I can make my writing better.
> 
> Have a great day guys :)


	11. The Whipped Cream War of Panic Attacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky, MJ and Peter have a chat. Sort of

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there. Guess who's on time (sort of)
> 
> First off - Merry Christmas guys!! (to those of you who celebrate it at least, to everyone else, Happy Holidays!!) I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I'm actually pretty proud of (I think)
> 
> Also - I saw Rise of Skywalker at midnight when it came out and can I just say holy shit I am still freaking out it was amazing (although it did have some mixed reactions, gotta say). So worth the tiredness the next day.
> 
> And once again credit where credit is due - thank you so much Stardust_Mage for being my Beta and making this work what it is. Love you girl.

One tour, two meetings and a rushed bathroom stop after landing and Bucky was surrounded by unfamiliar items inside the room that was deemed his. There were minimal items, a few photos of him pre-war, a couple of items of clothing that he haphazardly threw on the king-size bed upon arrival. 

He _still_ didn’t know what to think. The voice in his head was getting louder the longer he stayed here, becoming more tangible with its thoughts and plans of action, threatening those who lived in the compound. 

Bucky hated it.

The only way he knew to repress its undesired presence was caffeine, and due to his increased metabolism, he needed a lot of it.

He stood up from the too-soft bed and made his way to the communal living space that he was shown earlier. The hallway wasn’t too long and was very tidy, although one of the vent covers was askew. He continued to make his way to the kitchen to fix himself the biggest espresso known to man, stopping suddenly when voices floated down the hall.

“Peter,” 

 _Female. Approximately 16 years of age_.

 _Shut up_ he told the voice

 “Why are we here, this isn’t your level.”

He moved slowly, silently, as he listened in, training kicking in without him registering.

“No-one occupies these rooms,” 

_Male. Also approximately 16 years of age._

_I said shut UP!_

“This way we won’t get interrupted if an asshole, sorry, I mean ex-avenger, comes looking for us on our floor.”

_Plan of attack -_

_Shut up shuT UP SHUT UPSHUTUPSHUTUP_

“Interrupted doing what, exactly Parker?” The girl’s voice held the air of a smirk. Bucky decided to make his presence known before things escalated. He was all too familiar with where this would go. Clearing his throat purposefully as he rounded the corner, he watched with quiet humour as the teens sprang apart.

The girl laughed for a few seconds before whispering in the boy’s ear, making him go bright red. Bucky made his way to the kitchen, desperate for the miraculous cure-all that was caffeine. He stared intently as his liquid salvation poured into the jug, waited until it reached the top, removed it from its place, and downed the whole thing in under four seconds.

“Dude.” The girl’s voice reminded him that he had an audience. He turned to face the two, who were currently staring at him like he was a bleeding monkey asking for a band-aid and a cheese toastie.

She paused a little longer, looking him up and down as he put the jug back and pressed the button for more coffee before asking, “Are you okay?”

Taking a moment to consider the question, Bucky looked her dead in the eye and with a placebo caffeine-induced high replied. 

“Nope.” 

He grabbed the now full jug and chugged it again. The two looked at each other, and after seeming to have a non-verbal conversation, looked back to him.

“Do you wanna watch a movie with us?” Bucky was taken aback by their offer, as he assumed that his antics would create an air of mistrust or at least tension. He stood in silence for a bit before smiling gently at them and agreeing.   
  


It was fifteen minutes into a movie called ‘Star Wars’ when the questions started.

“So…” The girl, who’s name was Michelle, said inquisitively. “Why are you on this floor?”

Not knowing how to answer as he wasn’t too sure himself, Bucky replied with a noncommittal shrug. Sticking her hands up in the ‘don’t shoot’ gesture at his response, she tried a different approach.

“Why Bucky, not James?” That was actually a good question he thought. Easy to answer, but a good question none the less.

“It makes me feel like I’m cutting all ties to the man I was named after, you don’t hear people going around calling a not-so-great role model of a president ‘Bucky’”. He thought back to their previous conversation. _My friends call me MJ. You can call me Michelle._

“Why do your friends call you MJ, not Michelle like you told me to?” She smiled a little sadly at that and moved the tiniest bit closer to Peter, who had remained silent after their introductions, choosing instead to stare intently at the large screen in front of him.

“It happened when I was eight.” From the tone of her voice, Bucky could tell something serious had happened, and he didn’t want her to share if she didn’t feel comfortable, it’s something that he wished people had done with him. He told her as such. Her response was not one that he expected.

“I know what you were forced to do. Not everything, but enough to know it can’t be pretty. I just want you to know that I don’t judge you for it. You were under some mind-control shit that fucked you up. Just don’t beat yourself up about it, ‘kay.” She gave him a small smile at the end of her simple words of kindness, which he reciprocated.

He and Michelle talked back and forth for a good half hour before he addressed the elephant in the room.

“Peter,’ The young boy stiffened at the sound of his name. “Why’d you run off earlier?” 

Peter floundered for a while, stuttering over simple sounds before Bucky cut him off.

“It’s okay if you don’t like me, or if you’re afraid, you know. Some days I’m afraid of myself.” That seemed to be the tipping point for Peter’s vocabulary to kick back it.

“IknowyoumurderdMrStarksparents”. He blurted out, so quickly Bucky nearly didn’t catch what he said. But he did. The ex-assassin paled slightly, recoiling away from the two in surprise and alarm.

Just the reminder of what he did as the winter soldier was enough to make him want to throw up again. The two seemed to catch on to what he was feeling. Michelle was nice enough to remind him (and Peter) once again that it wasn’t him, really, who murdered Tony’s parents, rather, it was Hydra.

They turned back to watch the movie, none of them knowing what to say.

As the credits started rolling, Peter pressed the ‘off’ button on the remote and turned to Bucky.

“I’m sorry for how I acted before.”

The supersoldier took a breath to interrupt him, to tell him that he had every right to act the way he did, but before he could, Peter raised a hand to stop him.

“No. What I did was wrong. You had no control over your actions, it was all Hydras doing. None of it was your fault. I’m sorry.” He even offered the man a small smile, which was returned shortly.

As the sky darkened, the three slowly got to know each other, Peter becoming more and more talkative as time progressed. Eventually, their conversations evolved into what’s going on in society today.

“So the politicians suck, but what else do you expect from a bunch of grumpy old misogynistic white guys.” MJ, she let him call her that now, was telling him all about the crap that goes on in the world. “But memes are great, even though vine is dead.” Peter wailed in mock-despair at that comment.

Not knowing what half of what she said was, Bucky dared to ask. “What’s a vine?” MJ and Peter shared yet another silent conversation before turning back to him with matching Cheshire grins.

“Hey FRIDAY,” Peter lifted his head, talking to something.

“Yes, Peter?” A slightly mechanical sounding woman responded from the ceiling, making Bucky jump. Seeing his confusion, Peter explained what just happened

“FRIDAY is Mr Stark’s AI,” he turned back to the ceiling. “Can you play us some vines please.”

“Of course Peter. Now playing ‘vines that butter my croissant’ on youtube. Please turn your attention to the screen.”

Now thoroughly confused, Bucky turned to watch with excitement.

 

* * *

 

MJ liked Bucky.

He was a nice, down to earth, easy to talk to person. After getting to know him, and getting Peter to know him, she hated the negative light he was painted in with a renewed passion.

They were teaching Bucky all about the current memes, while giving him a history lesson on old vines (because why not). Although he seemed confused, Bucky looked to be enjoying them thoroughly, especially when they repeated and he could join in with Peter quoting them. MJ even laughed when he finished the chicken strip vine in the most over-dramatic falsetto voice there was.

She looked back to Peter, who seemed more comfortable with the ex-assassin than he was before, choosing now to interact with him and learn the other side of the story, not the one the media told because they were all corrupt as far as MJ was concerned. He would light up every time Bucky correctly quoted a vine.

After another half hour of actively watching the two, MJ had a stroke of genius.

“Let’s recreate the vines.”

The others turned to look at her, Peter with the biggest, cutest _not now MJ_ , smile. Bucky just looked confused. Again.

It turns out that whipped cream doesn’t come out of clothing as easily as they originally thought. Peter wanted to re-create the smack-cam vine, and MJ just wanted an excuse to get the whipped cream out. So together, in their idiotic genius, they poured whipped cream onto their hands and threw it at Bucky.

Bucky, being the mature adult that he is, decided that wasn’t nice, so he chased them down and covered them in whipped cream in return. 

Which started a whipped cream war. 

Which lead to Michelle’s discovery that whipped cream does not come out of clothing well.

Now, they were each hiding behind some item of furniture. Peter was behind the couch counting bottles of cream. Very loudly. MJ had no idea where Bucky was. Suddenly, she got an idea. Smirking at her brilliance, she peeked her head over the kitchen counter, she yelled at the top of her voice.

“THE FLOOR IS LAVA BITCHES!”

She heard a loud curse from behind the coffee table, which was lying on its side, giving her the location of Bucky. Said super-solider then flipped the table back to its original position and jumped on top, cream cans ready for firing. 

Peter started to scream and didn’t stop as screaming like a banshee as he lept from behind his safe zone holding a bucket of what looked like cream, it was hard to tell and charged at MJ. She didn’t expect that. 

She jumped onto the counter, then on to some poor, unsuspecting plants to get away, careful to not to touch the floor.

They continued their childish hell-like war until Bucky collapsed.

It was sudden, neither of them expected it. So when Bucky dropped to the floor, clutching his head while whispering shut up over and over again, they froze. Only for a second though. Being experienced in both having and dealing with panic attacks, MJ and Peter acted quickly. 

Peter dropped to his level and started talking to him, telling him to match his breathing. MJ filled a glass with water and walked back to hand it to him.

Slowly but surely, he came to. After a few minutes of calm silence, Peter asked _that_ question.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He didn’t respond immediately, so MJ took it as a no. Just as she was about to suggest that he should maybe try to get some sleep, he started speaking.

“I can hear his voice. The winter soldier’s, I mean. While the Wakandans got the trigger words out of my head and stripped his control over me, his voice is still there. It’s like a scar in my head from what Hyra did. Some days he’s quiet. Other days he is in my every thought. Caffeine seems to help though. It lasted me this long. Apparently, it’s run its course though.” Sighing, he looked up at the two concerned teens. “I guess I better get used to it them.”

 

* * *

 

“I guess I better get used to it then.” His voice held a sombre resolve that Peter loathed. Here was a man, who had just participated in a whipped cream war, accepting a life with a voice inside his head. While MJ reassured him that this wouldn’t be the case forever, that there would be some sort of technology built that would enable the voice to be removed, Peter was thinking.

“I have an idea.” He interrupted MJ, who glared at him. After apologising, he continued. “Mr Stark has contact with a really good neurosurgeon. I know it’s probably not what you need, and it might not work out, but it’s worth a shot, right?”

MJ and Bucky stared at him, before the latter spoke.

“Let’s go then.”

 

* * *

 

Tony had been working in the lab ever since the unexpected arrival of one James Buchanon Barnes. He didn’t even notice how late it was until he heard Peter knocking on the door to the lab.

“Peter, what are you doing here? It’s…” He checked his watch. “11:47!” He really didn’t notice how late it was. 

“Uh… actually, Mr Stark, there was something I was wanting to ask you.” He sounded timid, almost as if he was afraid of Tony’s reaction. Tony decided to look up and see what had him so shy. He nearly dropped his wrench in surprise.

“What. Is. He. Doing. Here.” The mechanic stared into the downtrodden eyes of the reason that he was holed up in the lab in the first place. The man who -

“Whoa, Mr Stark it’s okay!” Peter’s voice shocked him back to reality. Why did he need to tell him it was okay, he knew that it was - _oh_. He looked down to his hand, which was now covered in armour and pointed at Barnes.

“Sorry.” He didn’t sound it. He knew it wasn’t Barnes’ fault, really, but it was hard to look at him and not remember the video. Where he saw his father’s car be smashed, his parents lives end -

“-ark. Mr Stark, breathe with me.” He was hyperventilating, wasn’t he? Great. Slowly, his breathing caught up to him. It didn’t escalate like the one before, but any kind of attack it still bad. They seemed to give him a few more minutes before moving into the reason of why they were here.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk about this right now, but it needs to be dealt with right away. You know I wouldn’t come to you with this unless it was extremely important.” Tony heard the sincerity in Peter’s voice and offered him a small smile to tell him to continue.

He took a deep breath before he continued speaking. 

“Bucky still hears the winter soldier’s voice and since you have contact with that doctor I thought that maybe you could ask his for help because Bucky hates the voice and he just had a panic attack and I know you probably don’t want to help because of your history but it wasn’t him and I think he deserves some help and -”

“Breath kiddo.” He interrupted his rambling and walked over to Peter. He place a hand on his shoulder gently to reassure the kid everything was okay before speaking again. “I’ll help.”

Peter looked to him in disbelief.

“Don’t look at me like that Peter, of course, I’ll help. I know that Barnes and I have a… rough history,” said man winced when he said that. “But that doesn’t mean he should suffer.  However.” His voice took on a more playful tone as he ruffled Peter’s hair. “I think it is _way_ past the little spider’s bedtime.” He rolled his eyes as Peter fake glared at him for calling him little, the teen muttering something about proportionate strength.

He smirked before speaking again. “Wouldn’t you agree, Michelle?”

“Definitely.” She managed to deadpan while sounding smug.

He looked to Barnes, who had been silent throughout their whole interaction. He stuck his hand out.

“I’m sorry for… everything that happened between us. You didn’t deserve it. Start fresh?”

Barnes looked from him to his hand. 

“I did.” Tony just looked at him. The ex-assassin let out a breath before clasping his hand. The billionaire gave him a genuine smile. Small, but genuine.

“I’m Tony.”

“Bucky”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There should only be one more chapter after this one, hopefully, I get it done before next week, but who knows, I don't have 2020 vision. Wow-what a bad pun. Only a few more days where you can use it though (laugh/crying emoji) :)
> 
> I think I fixed the formatting issue too.
> 
> I love reading the comments and knowing what you guys think of both the story and my writing. The more specific the happier I get. I will try to reply to a few comments too.
> 
> Thank you so much you guys, I couldn't have done this without you <3


	12. Et Tandem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end was near, the end is here. 
> 
> (So is Christmas but not in the story)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it, sorry if it is a bit short

Pepper was beyond confused. It was too early for this.

Five minutes ago, she had walked into the communal kitchen on the floor to make breakfast for Tony, Peter and Michelle. She didn’t get much sleep last night as she was too preoccupied with her worry for Tony, due to Barnes’ returning and everything.

So, with that in mind, when Pepper stepped into the shared living space that housed the kitchen, what she saw was not something she expected.

Tony was up already, standing next to the counter with what was probably his third cup of coffee in his hands, no surprise there. However, it appeared he was observing, even giving guidance to someone. He had that same look on his face from the first time he gave Peter advice about Spider-man.

Looking to the left, Pepper found the kitchen to be filled with dishes, both clean and in-use, as well as familiar red tendrils. Figuring she could leave that mystery for later, she turned her weary head to the living room area, where she could see Peter and someone else leaning over a pair of gaming controllers, their face hidden by the couch.

MJ was the only one sitting at the table, infamous sketchbook and pencil in hand with a small smile gracing her face as she watched the kitchen chaos.

Rounding the corner, Pepper saw the face of the man sitting next to Peter, apparently being thrashed at some video game. It was the man who was the reason for her sleep deprivation. James Buchanan Barnes. And he was sitting in _her_ living room, and Tony was okay with it apparently.

When she walked forward, eyes wide with confusion, Tony handed her a mug full of steaming coffee, and she stood there observing as the pair continuously interacted with one another. It was something that resembled harmony.

Pepper was confused. It was _way_ too early for this.

Ten minutes of Tony directing and encouraging Wanda, who was using her powers in the kitchen later, and she was sitting down with everyone else with a plate of pancakes in front of her. In desperate need of answers, Pepper spoke up, silencing the other conversations.

“What is going on?” Peter and Tony gave her confused looks while Bucky averted his gaze, ceasing movement. Wanda also froze, but more out of curiosity. Michelle just kept eating and looking around like this was a great form of entertainment.

“Don’t look at me like that. FRIDAY told me what happened yesterday with Bucky’s arrival, so _clearly_ I’ve missed something. And Wanda, while it’s a good thing that you are, I thought you didn’t want to use your powers yet.” On a roll, Pepper continued her impromptu rant.

“And why on earth do I have an email from a ‘Dr Strange’ saying he would ‘look into it’. Look into what? What does that mean? Why did _I_ get the email? And why is there dried cream in Peter’s hair?”

Clearly, none of them expected her outburst, she didn’t either. Wanda just looked confused and a little… hurt? That faded quickly though. Both Peter, Michelle and Barnes for some reason shared a look at her last comment before Tony addressed the situation.

“Well, Ms Potts,” he used her professional name, which had become a sort of joke between them, “As for Barnes, he and I decided to... bury the hatchet... and start fresh - don’t give me that look Pepps, I know what I’m doing. And Wanda and I have decided that if she really wants to be okay with having her powers, then using them in every-day life and not just when a threat is present is the best way to go about it.”

He then looked at Peter.

“But I have no idea about the cream. Peter, why don’t you enlighten us.”

It was then peaceful, like a regular breakfast with a regular family, sharing stories and embarrassing moments. However, all good things must come to an end.

“Boss,” FRIDAY’s voice chimed over the conversation, quieting it but not quelling it. “Mr Rogers is attempting to override my systems. Shall I engage Karen’s protocol, _Watchu gon do_?”

Pepper watched the cogs turn in his head, fingers tightening around her cutlery in anger. _How dare he._

“Let him up FRI.”

That stopped the conversation.

“Mr Stark, are you sure?” Peter’s voice held concern for his mentor, although Pepper, now thoroughly awake, detected a wave of concealed anger. 

Tony, instead of responding, simply nodded as the elevator doors opened to reveal the rogue Avenger.

 

* * *

 

Steve couldn’t believe what he saw as he stepped out of the lift. There, in the dining room, sat Bucky. His Bucky. Surrounded by those he once called friends.

Before he could speak though, Tony opened his mouth, cold words pouring out.

“What are you doing here, Rogers. You don’t have clearance.”

“I’m here to see my friend, Tony. I know you don’t have much experience in that department.” Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say.

“What. The. _Hell_.” It was the child from before. Sensing the tension he knew he created, Steve backtracked to the real reason he was here.

“Bucky.” He looked at his friend, desperate for _something._

“Steve.” His voice was empty, void of emotion. _They’ve done something to him_.

“What did they do?” 

“What?"

“Bucky… What did they do to you? I can see they’ve done something. You were never this cold.”

Bucky took a deep breath before speaking to Steve again.

“They did nothing Steve. They didn’t have to. I was there, in Siberia. I watched it all happen. Wakanda gave me a lot of time to think, Steve.” _What is he talking about?_

“You’re not the same person you were. And it’s not the serum that’s changed you.” His voice took on a gentler tone, which made it _that_ much harder for Steve to bear. “As I said, Wakanda gave me a _lot_ of time to think, a _lot_ of time for me to re-evaluate where I stand. And I stand with him.” He jerked his head in Tony’s direction, earning a grim smile from the man.

Steve wouldn’t take it. He stalked towards the glorified mechanic, voice dropping.

“ _What the_ hell _did you do to him_.” Before Steve could get any closer, the child, Peter, stood in front of him, venom dripping from his voice.

“Step the _fuck_ away from him.”

Ignoring the gasp Wanda let out as he leant over, the super-soldier spoke down to the kid.

“Look, son, there are things here that you don’t understand, and that’s without broaching the subject of Tony bringing you to Germany. So _move_.”

 

* * *

 

In all honesty, Peter wasn’t sure how it escalated so fast.

One moment, Captain America was standing in the dining area, having a detached yet emotional conversation with Bucky, and the next, his senses screamed at him to get up and stand between him and his mentor.

He thought that would be it, but no. The man had the audacity to step closer, to threaten Peter, patronising him and all while insulting Mr Stark for something that wasn’t really his fault. And Peter was already hopped up on all that sugar he had just ingested (he liked to inhale his pancakes two at a time).

So when he felt the slight adjustment the Captain made, he acted on instinct. Rearing back, he placed all his strength in the blow, kicking the man in the head and watching with spiteful satisfaction as he fell to the ground, unmoving, drool leaking down his face.

It didn’t last long though. Peter’s actions finally caught up to him and he realised what he did. Looking around the room, he took in everyone’s reactions.

MJ was watching with humour, pencil moving swiftly, no doubt to get an outline of his horrified face. Both Wanda and Ms Potts had shock written all over them, however, neither seemed to disapprove of his actions. 

He then looked to Mr Stark, almost afraid of what his mentor would say. He was surprised to see pride, plain and simple.  Another voice spoke, breaking everyone out of their surprised stupor.

“Well shit kid, I knew you were enhanced but _damn._ I see why Stark brought you to Germany.”

 

* * *

 

It turns out that Sam was let up by FRIDAY, on the premise that he was going to apologise to Mr Stark for all the events that transpired, both during what the media dubbed ‘Civil War’ and after.

An apology which, after _much_ consideration, Mr Stark accepted. From then on it was a slow transition back to normality as all the tension slowly ebbed away.

But, Peter knew it would work out in the end. The UN had found new accommodation for Rogers under Ms Potts’ close observation, not to mention the pressure Nat placed on them.

So, as old wounds healed and scars faded away, Peter knew they had a chance to recover. To turn a house into a home. With that thought, he turned his attention back to the compound movie night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked that. I have to be honest though - I didn't. I'm open to suggestions for how it could end a little different, and I probably will re-write it because I just don't like it. Please comment on what you would like to see a little more of/change completely. It's up to you guys now
> 
> My Beta (Stardust_Mage) wanted there to be a shit ton more memes, but don't worry, I saved you from that. She also wants to say Merry Fucking Christmas.
> 
> As requested, I might be doing a one/two-shot with a certain mamma/son spider duo, so look out for that I guess.
> 
> Happy Holidays :)


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